Andrew Michael Alirez(born August 19, 2000) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler who competes at 65 kilograms. 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.

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.

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

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 . 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.

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.

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. Back to folkstyle, Alirez went 4–0 during the season before surrendering to an injury, but still qualified for the NCAA tournament.

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. 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.

2022–2023

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

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. After the season, he was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Year, and was a Dan Hodge Trophy finalist.

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.

In September, Alirez announced he would be using an Olympic redshirt for the 2023–2024 season. 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.

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. In June, he fell to fellow NCAA champion Jesse Mendez at Beat the Streets.

Freestyle record

Senior Freestyle Matches
Res.RecordOpponentScoreDateEventLocation
Win18–4United States Bryce MeredithTF 13–2February 28, 2026RAF 06United States Tempe, Arizona
Loss17–4United States Jesse Mendez1–4June 5, 20242024 Beat the StreetsUnited States New York City, New York
2024 US Olympic Team Trials DNP at 65 kg
LossUnited States Nahshon GarrettFFApril 19, 20242024 US Olympic Team TrialsUnited States State College, Pennsylvania
Loss17–3United States Nick Lee9–11
Win17–2United States Beau Bartlett6–2
2023 US Nationals at 65 kg
Win16–2United States Beau Bartlett8–0December 16–17, 20232023 US Senior NationalsUnited States Fort Worth, Texas
Win15–2United States Alec Pantaleo4–3
Win14–2United States Austin DeSantoTF 10–0
Win13–2United States Henry PorterTF 10–0
2023 Poland Open at 65 kg
WinBulgaria Mikyay NaimFFJuly 26–30, 20232023 Poland OpenPoland Warsaw, Poland
Win12–2Israel Josh FinesilverTF 10–0
Win11–2Azerbaijan Haji Aliyev8–0
2020 US Nationals at 65 kg
Win10–2United States Evan Henderson5–1October 9–11, 20202020 US Senior NationalsUnited States Coralville, Iowa
Win9–2United States Yahya Thomas7–1
Win8–2United States Joseph McKenna6–4
Win7–2United States Mitch McKee11–5
Win6–2United States Josh HeilTF 10–0
Win5–2United States Lawrence SaenzTF 10–0
2019 Dave Schultz Memorial 4th at 65 kg
Loss4–2United States Bryce Meredith2–7January 24–26, 20192019 Dave Schultz Memorial InternationalUnited States Colorado Springs, Colorado
Win4–1United States Dean Heil12–4
Win3–1United States Jordin HumphreyTF 10–0
Win2–1United States Joey Lazor8–2
Loss1–1United States Bryce Meredith7–8
Win1–0Canada Adam MacFadyenTF 10–0

NCAA stats

SeasonYearSchoolRankWeigh ClassRecordWinBonus
2025SeniorUniversity of Northern Colorado#9 (DNP)14117-385.00%55.00%
2024Olympic RS
2023Senior#1 (1st)14128–0100.00%71.43%
2022Junior#13 (DNP)23–582.14%35.71%
2021Sophomore#6 (DNQ)1494–0100.00%75.00%
2020Freshman#1123–485.19%55.56%
Career78–989.77%55.06%

External links