Andrew Alirez Explained

Andrew Alirez
Fullname:Andrew Michael Alirez
Birth Date:19 August 2000
Hometown:Greeley, Colorado, U.S.
Weight:141lb
Country:United States
Sport:Wrestling
Event:Freestyle and Folkstyle
Club:Northern Colorado Wrestling Club
Coach:Troy Nickerson
Medaltemplates: Northern Colorado Bears
Show-Medals:yes

Andrew Michael Alirez (born August 19, 2000) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms.[1] In freestyle, he is a two-time US National champion, and in folkstyle, he is an NCAA National champion at 141 pounds out of the University of Northern Colorado.[2]

Career

High school

Alirez attended Greeley Central High School, where he was a four-time state champion, multiple-time US freestyle All-American and a U20 Pan American champion.[3]

The top-recruit in the country, Alirez committed to the University of Northern Colorado.[4]

University of Northern Colorado

2019–2020

At the beginning of the year, Alirez recorded a fourth-place finish at the Dave Schultz Memorial International in freestyle, with a notable win over two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil .[5] Back to folkstyle, Alirez, a true freshman, took first at the Northern Colorado and the Cowboy Open tournaments, as well as second at the Southern Scuffle, during regular season.[6]

After a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships, it was announced that the NCAA National Championships had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cutting his season short to end it with a 23–4 record.[7] [8]

2020–2021

Before the season, Alirez claimed the US National Championship at 65 kilograms in freestyle, recording wins over US Open runner-up Joseph McKenna and veteran Evan Henderson.[9] Back to folkstyle, Alirez went 4–0 during the season before surrendering to an injury, but still qualified for the NCAA tournament.[10]

2021–2022

After dropping down from 149 to 141 pounds, Alirez placed second and third respectively at the CKLV Invitational and the Southern Scuffle during regular season.[11] [12] Alirez then claimed his first Big 12 Championship title with wins over highly ranked wrestlers, but fell short of All-American honors at the NCAA National Championships, ending his season with a 24–5 record.[13]

2022–2023

During regular season, Alirez compiled an undefeated record and racked up titles from the Cougar Clash Invite and the Southern Scuffle.[14] He then earned his second-straight Big 12 Championship before the National tournament.[15]

At the NCAA tournament, Alirez became the first NCAA Division I National champion in UNC's history, with hard-fought wins over Lachlan McNeil from North Carolina, Beau Bartlett from Penn State and Real Woods from University of Iowa, to close out an undefeated season with 28 wins and no losses.[16] After the season, he was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Year, and was a Dan Hodge Trophy finalist.[17]

In July, Alirez went back to freestyle to compete at the Poland Open, where he notably took out three-time World Champion Haji Aliyev in the first round to advance and defeat All-American Josh Finesilver, and lastly, took a forfeit over Mikyay Naim to claim the title.[18]

In September, Alirez announced he would be using an Olympic redshirt for the 2023–2024 season.[19] On December, Alirez became a two-time US National champion in freestyle with wins over All-Americans Beau Bartlett and Austin DeSanto, and US Open champion Alec Pantaleo, qualifying for the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials.[20]

2024

In April, Alirez competed at the US Olympic Team Trials, where after defeating NCAA finalist Beau Bartlett, he fell to US National champion and top-seeded Nick Lee in a tight loss, and subsequently forfeited out of the tournament.[21] In June, he fell to fellow NCAA champion Jesse Mendez at Beat the Streets.[22]

Freestyle record

! colspan="7"| Senior Freestyle Matches|-! Res.! Record! Opponent! Score! Date! Event! Location|-|Loss|17–4|align=left| Jesse Mendez|style="font-size:88%"|1–4|style="font-size:88%"|June 5, 2024|style="font-size:88%"|2024 Beat the Streets|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;"| New York City, New York|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Loss||align=left| Nahshon Garrett|style="font-size:88%"|FF|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|April 19, 2024|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2024 US Olympic Team Trials|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| State College, Pennsylvania|-|Loss|17–3|align=left| Nick Lee|style="font-size:88%"|9–11|-|Win|17–2|align=left| Beau Bartlett|style="font-size:88%"|6–2|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Win|16–2|align=left| Beau Bartlett|style="font-size:88%"|8–0|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|December 16–17, 2023|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=4|2023 US Senior Nationals|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=4| Fort Worth, Texas|-|Win|15–2|align=left| Alec Pantaleo|style="font-size:88%"|4–3|-|Win|14–2|align=left| Austin DeSanto|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-|Win|13–2|align=left| Henry Porter|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Win||align=left| Mikyay Naim|style="font-size:88%"|FF|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|July 26–30, 2023|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=3|2023 Poland Open|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=3| Warsaw, Poland|-|Win|12–2|align=left| Josh Finesilver|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-|Win|11–2|align=left| Haji Aliyev|style="font-size:88%"|8–0|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Win|10–2|align=left| Evan Henderson|style="font-size:88%"|5–1|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6|October 9–11, 2020|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6|2020 US Senior Nationals|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=6| Coralville, Iowa|-|Win|9–2|align=left| Yahya Thomas|style="font-size:88%"|7–1|-|Win|8–2|align=left| Joseph McKenna|style="font-size:88%"|6–4|-|Win|7–2|align=left| Mitch McKee|style="font-size:88%"|11–5|-|Win|6–2|align=left| Josh Heil|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-|Win|5–2|align=left| Lawrence Saenz|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-! style=background:white colspan=7 ||-|Loss|4–2|align=left| Bryce Meredith|style="font-size:88%"|2–7|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6|January 24–26, 2019|style="font-size:88%" rowspan=6|2019 Dave Schultz Memorial International|style="text-align:left;font-size:88%;" rowspan=6| Colorado Springs, Colorado|-|Win|4–1|align=left| Dean Heil|style="font-size:88%"|12–4|-|Win|3–1|align=left| Jordin Humphrey|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-|Win|2–1|align=left| Joey Lazor|style="font-size:88%"|8–2|-|Loss|1–1|align=left| Bryce Meredith|style="font-size:88%"|7–8|-|Win|1–0|align=left| Adam MacFadyen|style="font-size:88%"|TF 10–0|-

NCAA stats

! Season! Year! School! Rank! Weigh Class! Record! Win! Bonus|-|2024|Olympic RS|rowspan=5|University of Northern Colorado| | || | |-|2023|Senior|#1 (1st)|rowspan=2|141|28–0|100.00%|71.43%|-|2022|Junior|#13 (DNP)|23–5|82.14%|35.71%|-|2021|Sophomore|#6 (DNQ)|rowspan=2|149|4–0|100.00%|75.00%|-|2020|Freshman|#11|23–4|85.19%|55.56%|-|colspan=5 bgcolor="LIGHTGREY"|Career|bgcolor="LIGHTGREY"|78–9|bgcolor="LIGHTGREY"|89.77%|bgcolor="LIGHTGREY"|55.06%

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2018-09-01 . Despite team’s bus being showered with bullets, Greeley Central’s Andrew Alirez unflappable, winning Pan Am wrestling title in Brazil . 2023-12-16 . Greeley Tribune . en-US.
  2. Web site: 2023-03-18 . Greeley Native Andrew Alirez Completes Perfect Season with NCAA 141-Pound Championship . 2023-12-16 . University of Northern Colorado Athletics . en.
  3. Web site: 2023-03-18 . UNC's Andrew Alirez captures wrestling national championship . 2023-12-17 . KUSA.com . en-US.
  4. Web site: 2018-11-14 . Greeley Central’s Andrew Alirez stays true to his word and signs with University of Northern Colorado . 2023-12-17 . Greeley Tribune . en-US.
  5. Web site: 2019-01-26 . Greeley Central’s Alirez wrestles to fourth place at Dave Schultz Memorial International . 2023-12-17 . Greeley Tribune . en-US.
  6. Web site: 2020-01-01 . Alirez, Robertson Advance to Semifinals at Southern Scuffle . 2023-12-17 . University of Northern Colorado Athletics . en.
  7. Web site: Falk . Steven . NCAA Wrestling Championships: Tournament canceled due to coronavirus concerns . 2023-12-17 . Asbury Park Press . en-US.
  8. Web site: 2020-04-24 . Three Wrestlers Grab Scholar All-American Awards . 2023-12-17 . University of Northern Colorado Athletics . en.
  9. Web site: 2020-10-12 . Alirez, Schwartz Put the Bears on the Map at Senior Nationals . 2023-12-17 . University of Northern Colorado Athletics . en.
  10. Web site: Tribune . Jadyn Watson-Fisher Greeley . 2021-03-11 . Andrew Alirez withdraws from 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championship . 2023-12-17 . Greeley Tribune . en-US.
  11. Web site: 2021-12-04 . Alirez Takes Second at CKLV . 2023-12-17 . University of Northern Colorado Athletics . en.
  12. Web site: 2022-01-04 . Three Northern Colorado wrestlers place at annual Southern Scuffle . 2023-12-17 . The Fort Morgan Times . en-US.
  13. Web site: Tribune . Jadyn Watson-Fisher Greeley . 2022-03-19 . Andrew Alirez falls just short of podium, ends season at NCAA Tournament . 2023-12-17 . Greeley Tribune . en-US.
  14. Web site: 2023-01-02 . Alirez Wins 141-Pound Championship at Southern Scuffle . 2023-12-17 . University of Northern Colorado Athletics . en.
  15. Web site: 2023-03-05 . Poulin and Alirez are Big 12 Champs! . 2023-12-17 . University of Northern Colorado Athletics . en.
  16. Web site: How Andrew Alirez inspired a new era for Northern Colorado wrestling NCAA.com . 2023-12-17 . www.ncaa.com . en.
  17. Web site: 2023-03-18 . Greeley Native Andrew Alirez Completes Perfect Season with NCAA 141-Pound Championship . 2023-12-17 . University of Northern Colorado Athletics . en.
  18. Web site: 2023-07-31 . Alirez Wins Gold at Poland Open . 2023-12-17 . University of Northern Colorado Athletics . en.
  19. Web site: 2023-09-15 . Andrew Alirez to skip UNC wrestling season to train for Paris Olympics . 2023-12-17 . Greeley Tribune . en-US.
  20. Web site: 2023-12-20 . Greeley’s Andrew Alirez qualifies for U.S. Olympic Team wrestling trials . 2024-01-08 . Greeley Tribune . en-US.
  21. Web site: 2024-04-20 . Andrew Alirez’s bid for Olympic wrestling team ends in semifinal match at US trials . 2024-04-21 . Greeley Tribune . en-US.
  22. Web site: Jesse Mendez tops Andrew Alirez in battle of NCAA champions . Beat the Streets.

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