Lander's #14 ranked 285 lber Cam Coffman (Photo/Lander Athletics)1st Annual Carolina Clash
Saturday, December 4th
Lander University, Greenwood South Carolina
#3 St Cloud State University
#5 West Liberty University
#12 University of North Carolina-Pembroke
Allen University
Bluefield State College
Emmanuel University
Glenville State College
Kentucky Wesleyan University
Lander University
Liberty University (NCWA)
Lincoln Memorial University
University of Mount Olive
I am calling this the first annual Carolina Clash because I really want to have this become a yearly event. Lander head coach RC LaHaye has lured some of the country's best teams to Greenwood, South Carolina, for a series of duals. The kings of Division II wrestling, St. Cloud State, will be in attendance. West Liberty is headed south, fresh off a program-best finish at the NCAA tournament. Super Regional II powerhouse North Carolina-Pembroke looks to defend their claim as the best Division II team in the south. Then you have a couple of young programs such as third-year Lander.
LaHaye continues to build a program from scratch that will turn heads this season with the addition of their state-of-the-art wrestling center. Glenville State College under head coach Dylan Cottrell has been nearly unstoppable in duals this season. Bluefield State College is in its inaugural season in Division II. Then there is first-year Lincoln Memorial University; the Railsplitters are currently my favorite team I need to buy gear for. You gotta love a team that is repping Lincoln, in South Carolina!
Allen University is not quite yet a Division II wrestling team, at least not fully. They have to wait until the 2022-2023 season to be full-fledged members of the big kids club. Emmanuel Univerisity was once just like Liberty, an NCWA powerhouse with aspirations of competing beyond the club level. Now, Emmanuel is in search of All-American number two in program history and Liberty continues to send its athletes out in search of the best competition. The University of Mount Olive qualified athletes for the national tournament in year one and coach Dan Willis was able to send Colby Teague in year two to St Louis. Can they break back through in 2022 and send more than just one qualifier?
This is a mixture of young, hungry teams looking to build and established programs seeking to show that the gap is not getting smaller. A year ago, St. Cloud State had to wait until the last match of the tournament to raise their trophy. In 2022, they come into the season ranked behind Nebraska-Kearney and Central Oklahoma. They are just a few points ahead of Lindenwood and West Liberty. The team race is up for grabs and, at some point, someone will take the crown. West Liberty finished fourth in St. Louis and nabbed another team trophy for Danny Irwin. For Division II wrestling in the south, it used to be Pembroke and then everyone else. Now, after finishing as the Super Regional II runner-up twice in the last three seasons, the Braves are out to show they are still the best.
Five mats. Five rounds. 25 duals. One day. There will be an insane amount of wrestling taking place one week ahead of the Midwest Classic in Indianapolis. These teams currently feature 27 ranked athletes, and while injury may make the number that actually competes lower, that is a heck of a lock of ranked matches to watch for. We may see top-five matches at 125, 133, and heavyweight. Three of the Division II top-ranked wrestlers will be in attendance and put that ranking on the line. After this coming weekend, my rankings may start to make sense as athletes finally take the mat and start competing.
This is going to be the biggest wrestling weekend of the early season, and have far-reaching seeding implications for the national tournament. Many of these athletes will not have another chance to meet, unless they see each other again at the National Dual Tournament. A head-to-head win this weekend is going to weigh heavy in the minds of the seeding committee, or it would if they would just do the right thing and listen to me.
I will break down the matchups between the ranked teams. And point out the other chances for athletes currently ranked to meet up and settle differences.
ROUND ONE
Lander (B) vs. Bluefield State
Bluefield State is a brand new program that will do battle in Super Region III with the likes of West Liberty this season. The West Virginia school is still breaking in a SID, as far as I can tell. It appears that they have one win this season, a 28-0 victory over Patrick Henry Community College in a dual that featured five double forfeits. You read that correctly. Five. Hopefully, they bring more than five athletes down to the Clash. If you look on their schedule page, though, you would not be able to tell their current record. You won't find anything in their “news†either.
Liberty vs. Allen
This could be a chance for Allen to earn a second win this season as the “provisional†Division II team takes on NCWA powerhouse Liberty. Liberty has sent athletes to some big tournaments this year, including the Life Open and Lindenwood. They have been tested and it will pay dividends as they look to pull an early-round upset.
#5 West Liberty vs. #12 UNC-Pembroke
Be in your seats early on Saturday. This first-round matchup will feature an NCAA finals rematch right out of the gate. #1 Cole Laya (West Lib) will take on #2 Nick Daggett (UNCP) as soon as the first whistle blows. Laya has owned this rivalry, winning four of the five matches, including two last season. Can Daggett pull the upset and put himself atop the rankings?
At 133, we could see the first matches for both 2021 NCAA Champion and top-ranked Tyler Warner (West Lib) and #11 Logan Seliga (UNCP). Seliga qualified for his second straight NCAA tournament, while Warner won a second national title. Warner won their only meeting 4-0 last season in the MEC Championship. Keep an eye on who the Hilltoppers send out at 149; there is a wrestle-off brewing between Jordan Watters and Jacob Simpson. 141 and 149 are going to be essential matches for this dual, sweep them and your team has a great chance of winning the whole thing. #14 Alec Cook (West Lib) has been up and down this season and needs to show consistency to stay in the rankings.
Chase Morgan (West Lib) started the season in the rankings after qualifying for the national tournament, but a rough beginning to the year has seen him fall out of the top-16. Can he bounce back against Rashan Vereen (UNCP) or will it be a chance for the Braves to try to build a lead?
#10 Ty McGeary (West Lib) notched a big win over two-time All-American Brock Biddle early this season and now he is looking to build. If the dual is tight, West Liberty can count on 2019 NCAA Champion and 2021 NCAA runner-up Connor Craig to give them breathing room at 184. Jovaun Johnson (UNCP) has been good for the Braves in his career, but he needs to be great to beat Craig. We could see another great matchup at 197, where you will see #7 Bryce Walker (UNCP) taking on #8 Logan Kemp (West Lib). They each have a big win this season; Walker defeated the 2021 national qualifier, Darius Parker. Logan Kemp earned a win over 2019 national champion Nick Mason. The winner of this match will continue their upward trajectory to start their second senior season.
If this dual comes down to heavyweight, it could be another fun one. 2021 All-American Francesco Borsellino (West Lib) is ranked fifth and he takes on ninth-ranked Ryan Monk (UNCP).
Emmanuel vs. Kentucky Wesleyan
This dual features one ranked wrestler in Emmanuel's #SuperSenior Dalton Flint. The 14th-ranked Flint won 17 matches on his way to qualifying for the national tournament. This year he is off to an undefeated start, but while he may not be tested round one, he will certainly face some tough matches throughout the day. For Kentucky Wesleyan, it will be a matter of seeing if they can field a full lineup because they will not beat any of these teams if they are forfeiting matches.
Glenville State vs. Mount Olive
Next season, Mount Olive head coach Dan Willis will be pulling double-duty as the men's and women's head coach. For now, he can focus just on the men as they will take on the buzzsaw that is Glenville State. Dylan Cottrell's squad has been on fire this season, outscoring opponents 261-35 in their six dual wins. They have broken 50 three different times already. They will be without a 157 for this competition, but still have ranked athletes in Cole Houser at 184 and Jordan Williams at 197. Keep an eye down low as they return Kevin Meloni to 125 and Alec Fulwider to 133. That toughens up the lower half of an already pretty tough group.
ROUND TWO
Lander (A) vs Glenville State
Host team Lander will get to sit back in round one and watch some of these teams beat each other up. Or, they will have to sit back and wrestle a warmed-up program to get their own day going. They match up with Glenville State in what could be a look at possible Midwest Classic matches. It seems that Lander will be without their stud 141, #16 Zeth Brower. That could be a big swing and might be enough to make up for the Glenville forfeit that will happen at 157. The match of the dual will be at 197 when #16 Darius Parker (Lander) takes on #12 Jordan Williams (Glenville). Glenville State is in Super Regional III, which means a win here will loom largest at nationals. Keep an eye out for a big swing match right away at 133, with the return of Alec Fulwider (Glenville) taking on #16 ranked true freshman Elijah Lusk (Lander).
Lincoln Memorial vs. Lander (B)
The Railsplitters will take on the second-team Bearcats in a great chance for both teams to gain experience. It is one of the best things about this format, athletes are getting a chance to get valuable mat-time. There are not a lot of results for Lincoln Memorial early this season, but we do know that head coach Andy Bricker is not fielding a full squad.
Mount Olive vs. Liberty
Can Colby Teague (Mount Olive) find his late-season form from 2021 that saw him make the trip to St Louis? He has struggled this year with consistency and this is a “get-right†match for him. Liberty has been a successful NCWA program; they are the current Grand National Champions as well as the NCWA National Dual Champions. They are not going to be an easy match for any program that takes them lightly.
Bluefield State vs. Emmanuel
Bluefield State is probably going to do something that quite a few new teams in Division II do to start their history. They are going to forfeit a lot of weights in duals. Emmanuel may not be a powerhouse, but they have been there and done that. They will have more than enough to stop the upstart Bluefield squad.
Allen vs. Kentucky Wesleyan
Allen has consistently fielded almost a full squad this season. They are unable to compete in the postseason, but they are earning valuable experience. Kentucky Wesleyan looks to have a full lineup themselves. This is big; head coach Rob McCabe has been in it for the long haul since joining the program as an assistant in 2018. He has led the Panthers forward as they are still looking to send their first athlete to the national tournament. 2022 could be the season. Gabe Adams (149) could be their best shot and the Carolina Clash will test him.
ROUND THREE
Lander (A) vs. Kentucky Wesleyan
Lander will continue to ease into their Clash as the home squad. RC LaHaye will have his “A†squad ready to roll for Kentucky Wesleyan after what should be a barn-burner against Glenville State. Kentucky Wesleyan will probably win a dual or two, but it will not be against Lander. This Lander team is setting the bar high early and it will be up to the leaders to make sure they deliver on their promise when the postseason arrives.
#3 St. Cloud State vs. #5 West Liberty
This is the real heavyweight bout of Saturday and what could be a preview of a quarterfinal match at the upcoming NWCA National Duals tournament. It is kind of funny because at one point, West Liberty was probably on the outside looking in at that tournament and after coming to their senses, they will get multiple shots at the Huskies.
Danny Irwin's squad is a much better tournament than a dual team, but they will match up at a few weights very well with St. Cloud State. There will be ranked matches at the first two weights. #1 Cole Laya will have his second battle against a ranked wrestler when he takes on freshman and 10th-ranked Paxton Creese. Then we get to see #1 Tyler Warner take on fellow SuperSenior #4, Garrett Vos. Two years ago, Vos got the better of him in a dual between St. Cloud State and Pitt-Johnstown. Last year at the NCAA tournament, Warner took the 9-4 in the finals. This is another one of those NCAA previews with huge seeding implications. If the Hilltoppers build an early lead, it will be up to top-ranked Joey Bianchini to strike back for the Huskies. St. Cloud State will have SuperSenior Jake Barkzowski at 149; he entered the rankings and has climbed to 12th. Barzowski is a 2019 All-American and 2020 national qualifier who has made the cut to get back into the lineup. West Liberty will have their starter named before they arrive in town, but could this be a chance for a warmed-up West Liberty athlete to pull an upset?
At 157, St. Cloud State has two different athletes who could be NCAA finalists, will it be #3 Colby Njos or redshirt sophomore Anthony Herrera? They will take on 14th-ranked Alec Cook, who as we said earlier, is looking to cement himself as an All-American threat. Chase Morgan (West Lib) and Devin Donovan (St. Cloud) are both right on the cusp of landing back into the top-16. Another big matchup awaits at 174 between #10 McGeary (West Lib) and #14 Dom Mueller (St. Cloud). Things stay in favor of West Lib headed into 184 with #2 Connor Craig (West Lib) taking on #11 William Pitzer (St. Cloud). The dual could be 5-3 heading into the last two matches. #5 Noah Ryan (St. Cloud) will be one of a few favored Huskies in this dual as he faces off against #8 Logan Kemp (West Lib). Could this dual, much like the national tournament, come down to heavyweight? If so, #2 Kam Teacher (St. Cloud) would seem to have the edge over #5 Francesco Borsellino (West Lib). For West Liberty to pull the upset and end the St. Cloud State win streak, they will need to win at least six matches. Be ready for this dual because it could very easily be 5-5 and come down to bonus points.
Allen vs. Emmanuel
I, for one, am just hoping that we do not see any double forfeits at the Clash, but I am afraid that will probably happen in at least one of these duals. Emmanuel will be heavily favored in their matchup against Allen and Dalton Flint will be looking to pad his stats.
#12 UNC-Pembroke vs. Glenville State
Glenville State is taking on one big fight after another at the Clash. They will follow up a battle with Lander by taking on MEC foe UNC-Pembroke. This has postseason seeding repercussions, not for Super Regionals, but the Mountain East tournament. There will also be a chance to see Jordan Williams take on Bryce Walker in a battle of ranked wrestlers at 197. If UNC-Pembroke fields the lineup they are fully capable of sending out there, Glenville State is in trouble. If, however, they are still waiting to release all their firepower, this could be another upset for Glenville State.
Liberty vs. Bluefield State
Liberty could earn another dual win against a Division II opponent when they will take on an undermanned Bluefield State. Listen, being the best NCWA team is not the equivalent of being a very good Division II squad, but it is enough to make sure that they can take out teams who cannot field a full lineup.
ROUND FOUR
Lander (A) vs. #5 West Liberty
This will be an underrated matchup at the Clash because of some individual matches that will put ranked athletes head-to-head. Lander is upping their competition each round as they build to a final dual with St. Cloud State and I think it is a great plan for coach LaHaye's squad. If Tyler Warner (West Lib) does not go or takes a dual off as he works back into shape, this could end up being a close dual beyond the paper. I am also excited to see Logan Kemp taking on Darius Parker at 197. These two have never met despite being national qualifiers and I want to see how this plays out. It will also be a good test for a Lander team that is still young against a seasoned West Liberty program. The Bearcats want to compete for a Super Regional II crown and how they perform against the likes of the Hilltoppers will be their midseason measuring stick.
#12 UNC-Pembroke vs. #3 St. Cloud State
The best dual of Round Four will pit the Braves against the Huskies. UNC-Pembroke has a very good lineup that they Could use that would match up strongly against the reigning national champions. The real question is, will they? There could be ranked matches to start the first two weights as the Braves send out #2 Daggett and #11 Seliga to take on #10 Creese and #4 Vos. The middleweights will be all Huskies, but we see good matches at 197 and heavy as we could go head-to-head with ranked athletes again. #7 Bryce Walker and #9 Ryan Monk for UNC-Pembroke will battle against #5 Noah Ryan and #2 Kam Teacher. I want to focus on the lightweight match though, a year ago, it seemed as if Paxton Creese was just not strong enough against elite competition. He will have plenty of chances in Carolina to test himself against some of the best in the nation. Can he finally earn that winning takedown and get over the hump? If not, he may miss his chance to be a national qualifier again in one of the deepest weights in the nation.
Emmanuel vs. Liberty
I cannot fathom how an NCWA team could come into a competition against Division II programs and have a shot at winning multiple duals. But given the matchups that Liberty has on tap, they may win more than one at the Carolina Clash. Emmanuel will be a test because the Lions are a good program with some depth and are anchored in the middle by 2021 national qualifier Dalton Flint. This will come down to bonus points; if either team gives up 6 through a pin or forfeit, it will be the difference. On a side note, I was there in Cleveland when Emmanuel had their first Division II All-American in program history and I hope that they can accomplish that feat again in 2022.
Mount Olive vs. Allen
Mount Olive is going to put up a lot of points against Allen University. I think that Mount Olive has underrated talent in Super Regional II and that they may not be first-tier, but they are certainly good enough to send multiple athletes to the national tournament. I expect Allen to continue with their growing pains, but they are going to need to start trying to fill out a lineup if they want to have any staying power. There is plenty of talent in the south and tapping into it needs to be a goal for every new coach in that area.
Lincoln Memorial vs. Glenville State
This could be a matter of whether or not the Glenville State team can put up 50 points once again in a dual. I feel for Dylan Cottrell's team as he looks to continue to build on their success, their toughest match will be early against Lander and beyond that, they should buzzsaw through their duals. Lincoln Memorial is in a position similar to Allen and Kentucky Wesleyan; it is a program that needs to show growth. Taking competition against tough programs is a great way to show prospective recruits that they will have a chance to show their talents on big stages. They may want to go a little slower though, right now, it needs to be about getting butts into the wrestling room to field a team. For a year one program, they are ahead of the game, though, but by next season they need to be able to send out 10 guys every night.
ROUND FIVE
Lander (A) vs. #3 St. Cloud State
I spoke about Lander bumping up their competition as the day goes on and this is very apparent when you see who they will be ending their day against. Taking on the Huskies last can be very good, both teams will have had a full slate of competition during the day to warm up. You also will see who was able to stay healthy; anyone who is banged up could miss a match and swing points in the dual. There are quality matches to be had here as 133 and 197 have ranked matchups. I am bummed that we will not see Zeth Bower at 141 testing himself against Bianchini, but Santa can only bring so many presents. Expect the Bearcats to be ready to go and while they will almost certainly not be able to pull the upset, they are going to test some of these Huskies. And this is all about paying dividends in the postseason; a young athlete finding out they can roll with a kid from a power program can build confidence that propels them for the rest of the season.
Lander (B) vs. Liberty
Is it weird that one of Liberty's best dual opportunities will be against the Lander “B†squad? They will probably face a full lineup, unlike some of their other duals, and it will be a great test as the prep for the NCWA Dual tournament. Keep in mind that they are also showcasing their talent for prospective programs that could find a diamond in the rough and offer them an opportunity to transfer to a Division II team and compete at the NCAA level. It is one thing to be the best club team in the country; it is another to compete for All-American honors in the NCAAs.
Mount Olive vs. #5 West Liberty
I expect that West Liberty will travel with a few subs to the Carolina Clash and that we will see them at different points on Saturday. Against Mount Olive, Danny Irwin should send out his extras. The only “marquee†match would be Alec Cook and Colby Teague at 157. That is a match that would mean more to Teague; he could jump right back into the rankings with a strong weekend.
Bluefield State vs. Lincoln Memorial
I will set the line for double forfeits at -1.5 in this dual. Smart money would be to take the over if you are wondering. I spoke about it earlier, but the goal for new programs is to get wrestlers into the room. They do not have to be great wrestlers or even good ones, just get them in the room and start building. Find those guys who are just state qualifiers, find the guys who get good grades and show up to practice. Find the guys who are hungry to keep wrestling and are willing to pay tuition to get that chance. Take the advice, both programs.
Glenville State vs. Kentucky Wesleyan
Glenville State is going to score a lot of points this season against teams that are not ready for them and I am not certain that Kentucky Wesleyan is ready for Dylan Cottrell's team. Kentucky Wesleyan is working to build a team, but at some point, they have to be able to field a full D2 squad. I am wondering if they can score 50 points in more than two duals next Saturday. I think they have a shot.
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