Michigan All-American Logan Massa (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)Each Monday, Big Ten correspondent Cody Goodwin recaps the biggest results from around the Big Ten Conference.
Michigan - He's baaaaaaaack
Michigan sent some dudes to the Cleveland State Open and the most notable was, of course, Logan Massa, who left the 174-pound bracket in a pile of ashes by going 5-0 with two technical falls, a pin and a major decision. He outscored his opponents 65-14. He scored 20 takedowns and gave up one. He didn't really wrestle anybody super significant (sorry guys), but the fact that he's back means he'll likely join Michigan's starting lineup soon, which means the Wolverines could look like this next semester:
So that's … *checks notes* … seven All-Americans, including three past NCAA finalists and, at the top of the lineup, a national champion. A salty lineup just got saltier, and maybe - just maybe! - we're looking at a three-team stampede come March, between Iowa, Penn State and now Michigan.
Just maybe!
Indiana - The Hoosiers also sent dudes to the Cleveland State Open, and four came away champions: Jacob Moran (125), Derek Gilcher (157), D.J. Washington (184) and Nick Willham (197). Washington continued his torrid run this season by going 4-0 with three pins, pushing him to 9-0 overall with eight pins this season. He's no longer on pace to pin everybody this season - sad face - by virtue of his 16-11 win over Kent State's Colin McCracken in the finals. Still, if he pins everybody else this season, the Hodge Trophy might go to Bloomington. We'll keep an eye out. Of his nine pins this season, six have come in the first period of the match, which is pretty cool.
Maryland - Beat Navy, 18-16, to improve to 3-2 overall and is now above .500 after multiple duals for the first time since the 2017-18 season, which was also the last time the Terps won at least three duals in a season. The Terps have also won three in a row for the first time since … wait for it … '17-18. Before these last three victories, Maryland had lost 23 in a row dating back to the '19-20 season - 13-straight to close '19-20, lost all eight duals last year, then the first two again this season. Against Navy, Maryland rallied from down 16-6 thanks to victories in the final four matches, a run highlighted by a pair of overtime wins from Dom Solis, 8-6 over Shane Finney at 174, and Zach Schrader, 3-1 over Riley Smith at heavyweight. Overall, Maryland went 4-0 in matches decided by two points or fewer against Navy after going a combined 2-8 in those matches in their first four duals. That, my friends, is progress.
Ohio State - Blitzed Pittsburgh, 30-7, an effort punctuated by Carson Kharchla's 4-3 win over returning NCAA finalist Jake Wentzel at 165 pounds. And honestly, it wasn't even that close. Kharchla out-shot Wentzel by a lot, but only finished two of them by utilizing the danger-rule, which was smart. Kharchla has now wrestled the two returning NCAA finalists, in Wentzel and Stanford's Shane Griffith. He beat Wentzel, obviously, and led Griffith before losing, 5-4, in the semifinals of the CKLV. This weight is so much fun.
Anyways, the rest of the dual was basically all Buckeyes, as the score suggests. Sammy Sasso (149) and Ethan Smith (174) both put up 20+ points in technical fall wins, and both Kaleb Romero (184) and Tate Orndorff both scored 10 in major decision victories. At 157, Jashon Hubbard registered a 2-1 win over Elijah Cleary, who won 55 matches in five seasons with the Buckeyes before transferring this offseason. At 141, Dylan D'Emilio muscled out a 4-3 win over Cole Matthews, perhaps solidifying his starting spot from here forward. Nino Bonaccorsi (197) and Micky Phillippi (133) both won for Pitt.
Rutgers - Thumped Army, 26-9, to move to 10-0 this season, which is the best start in program history, which dates back to 1930. The Scarlet Knights won 7-of-10 to defeat the Black Knights, and are now 82-18 in individual matches during this 10-dual win streak. Of those 82 wins, Rutgers wrestlers have recorded 17 major decisions, 14 pins, 13 technical falls and, get this, are 3-0 in overtime matches. Pretty good!
Michigan State - Took down Gardner-Webb, 29-12. The good news: the Spartans scored six bonus-point wins! The tougher news: they only won six matches! A dub is a dub, to be sure, but just something to keep in mind. Gardner-Webb won two of the first three matches and four of the first seven, but Michigan State took a 10-6 lead on Peyton Omania's injury-default victory at 149 pounds and never gave it back. Rayvon Foley (125), Chase Saldate (157) and Cam Caffey (197) all scored major decisions, while Layne Malczewski (184) added a technical fall and Brad Wilton (285) ended the dual with a third-period fall. The Spartans are now 3-0, and the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs are now 1-3 but still own one of the cooler nicknames in college sports.
Minnesota - Sent a handful of guys to the UNI Open in Cedar Falls. Four went home champions: Pat McKee (125), Jake Bergeland (141), Brayton Lee (157), Michial Foy (197). McKee topped Iowa true freshman Drake Ayala, 8-4, in a de-facto title match. Bergeland beat Northern Iowa's Cael Happel, 11-9, and is now 3-0 all-time against Lisbon (IA) graduates, having beaten Cael, older brother Carter Happel and also Cobe Siebrecht over the last three years. Lee beat Mizzou's Jarrett Jacques, 6-3, thanks to a pair of takedowns. Foy might be a Certified Dudeâ„¢ï¸ after majoring his way through this field. Michael Blockhus (149) and Cael Carlson (165) both took second. Blockhus, who transferred from Northern Iowa, lost to current Panther wrestler Colin Realbuto, 5-3, in a match that made wrestling fans in Cedar Falls feel all kinds of ways.
Illinois - Went 2-0 this weekend with wins over Chattanooga, 19-12, and SIUE, 35-6, to improve to 2-0 this season. Had to really muscle through Chattanooga, who won four of the first five weights for a 12-3 lead. Illinois won the final five to prevail, but the Mocs won a couple of close matches early - Franco Valdes over We Rachal 4-3 at 141, Noah Castillo over Christian Kanzler 6-4 at 149 - to make it interesting. Against SIUE, Illinois rolled thanks to three forfeit wins and a couple of major decisions from Kanzler and Zac Braunagel (184).
Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Penn State and Wisconsin did not compete this weekend.
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