All-American's Rocky Elam (left) and Trent Hidlay (Photo Courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com)Yesterday, the pools and matchups were announced for the Journeymen Collegiate Duals, which are set to go down on December 20-21 on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida. Six of the top ten dual teams and seven of the top 11 are slated to be in Florida for the festivities.
Half of the 12 teams will be put into the “Blue Pool,†and the other half will be in a “Red Pool.†From there, teams have been put into groups of three, which will hit in round-robin action. The winners from the Blue Pool's two groups of three will meet, as will the second and third-place teams. The same goes for the Red Pool. Great lengths have been taken in drawing up these pools to ensure that conference teams and schools with each other on their schedule don't meet.
While we have almost a month until the first whistle in Florida, we're excited about the event and wanted to look at some of the potential matchups on tap, since we have the pools. Below are the wrestlers currently ranked that could face off with one another based on the matchups released yesterday. We have not projected winners of matches yet, and placed group winners together, though they will account for some even better duals.
December 20th
Blue Pool
9AM - Mat 1: Cornell vs. Northern Iowa
#5 Vito Arujau (Cornell) vs. #33 Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa)
#1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. #31 Tristan Lara (Northern Iowa)
#17 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) vs. #25 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa)
#9 Chris Foca (Cornell) vs. #26 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa)
#18 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) vs. #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
#17 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) vs. #18 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa)
There are a lot of ranked matches in this one, though Cornell is favored in all but one. As both teams get more experience, more ranked bouts could develop.
9AM - Mat 2: Virginia Tech vs. Hofstra
#24 Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) vs. #27 Greg Gaxiola (Hofstra)
#9 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) vs. #30 Charles Small (Hofstra)
#14 Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) vs. #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra)
Hofstra has a few guys just outside the top-33, so they may be able to work their way in before late December. Other than that, heavyweight should be very competitive.
11AM - Mat 1: Penn State vs. Northern Iowa
#1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) vs. #33 Kyle Biscoglia (Northern Iowa)
#21 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) vs. #31 Tristan Lara (Northern Iowa)
#32 Creighton Edsall (Penn State) vs. #25 Austin Yant (Northern Iowa)
#1 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. #26 Lance Runyon (Northern Iowa)
#1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. #4 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
#4 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. #18 Carter Isley (Northern Iowa)
All eyes are focused on the 184 lb bout. #1 versus #4 in a rematch of the 2021 NCAA semifinals, won by Aaron Brooks, 6-4. The loss is Parker Keckeisen's only official defeat thus far.
11AM - Mat 2: Arizona State vs. Hofstra
#3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) vs. #27 Greg Gaxiola (Hofstra)
#8 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) vs. #29 Trey Rogers (Hofstra)
#3 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State) vs. #20 Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra)
Unfortunately, Hofstra's ranked guys are slated to meet some of the best wrestlers in the nation at their respective weights, with two top-three's and an eighth.
1PM - Mat 1: Cornell vs. Penn State
#5 Vito Arujau (Cornell) vs. #1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State)
#1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) vs. #21 Beau Bartlett (Penn State)
#17 Julian Ramirez (Cornell) vs. #32 Creighton Edsall (Penn State)
#9 Chris Foca (Cornell) vs. #1 Carter Starocci (Penn State)
#18 Jonathan Loew (Cornell) vs. #1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State)
#19 Jacob Cardenas (Cornell) vs. #4 Max Dean (Penn State)
#17 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell) vs. #4 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
This is one of the duals to circle! Provided Vito Arujau stays at 133, that match will be perhaps the most entertaining of the entire event. Also, the return of Max Dean facing his old team. By then, Jacob Cardenas will probably have moved up in the rankings.
1PM - Mat 2: Virginia Tech vs. Arizona State
#12 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) vs. #3 Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
#4 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) vs. #7 Michael McGee (Arizona State)
#33 Sam Hillegas (Virginia Tech) vs. #17 Jesse Vasquez (Arizona State)
#8 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) vs. #5 Kyle Parco (Arizona State)
#24 Connor Brady (Virginia Tech) vs. #3 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)
#14 Nathan Traxler (Virginia Tech) vs. #3 Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
Absolute fire here! All-Americans clashing with one another at 125 and 133. A top-ten match at 149 lb with two highly entertaining wrestlers. This looks bound to come down to the final bout, especially since ASU has unranked wrestlers at weights that are the Hokies strengths (174-184).
Red Pool
3PM - Mat 1: Lehigh vs. Central Michigan
#14 Jaret Lane (Lehigh) vs. #32 Brock Bergelin (Central Michigan)
#10 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) vs. #20 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan)
#10 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) vs. #11 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan)
Individually, some of these guys have met already this year at the Journeymen Collegiate Challenge. Humphreys and Lovett were slated to, but a medical forfeit was involved. Both teams are slightly underrated in dual competition, so expect a close one.
3PM - Mat 2: Binghamton vs. Missouri
#28 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton) vs. #11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri)
#12 Louie DePrez (Binghamton) vs. #5 Rocky Elam (Missouri)
#30 Joe Doyle (Binghamton) vs. #12 Zach Elam (Missouri)
All-Americans will be set to collide at 197 lbs as Louie DePrez is likely to get his most significant test at 197 lbs, since moving up. The Bearcats have a couple others on the cusp of a top-33 ranking.
5PM - Mat 1: Iowa vs. Central Michigan
#1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. #32 Brock Bergelin (Central Michigan)
#2 Jaydin Eierman (Iowa) vs. #8 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan)
#8 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. #20 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan)
#7 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) vs. #11 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan)
This group has excellent heavyweights, with all three (Cassioppi/Stencel/Wood) coming in with past All-American honors. Dresden Simon and Johnny Lovett are both capable of pulling upsets, so Iowa is clearly favored, but will get pushed in these matches.
5PM - Mat 2: Binghamton vs. NC State
#28 Jacob Nolan (Binghamton) vs. #5 Hayden Hidlay (NC State)
#12 Louie DePrez (Binghamton) vs. #17 Isaac Trumble (NC State)
#30 Joe Doyle (Binghamton) vs. #27 Owen Trephan (NC State)
It's the Pat Popolizio Bowl. The current NC State coach gets to face his former school. A loaded Wolfpack team appears to be too much for the Bearcats, but the final three weights could be fun.
7PM - Mat 1: Lehigh vs. Iowa
#14 Jaret Lane (Lehigh) vs. #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa)
#22 Malyke Hines (Lehigh) vs. #3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
#10 Josh Humphreys (Lehigh) vs. #8 Kaleb Young (Iowa)
#27 Brian Meyer (Lehigh) vs. #1 Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
#10 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) vs. #7 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)
157 and 285 lbs could be crucial matches as we look down the road for potential NCAA seeding. The wrestlers at these weights could be very close to each other in the rankings once March rolls around.
7PM - Mat 2: Missouri vs. NC State
#18 Noah Surtin (Missouri) vs. #5 Jakob Camacho (NC State)
#27 Trey Crawford (Missouri) vs. #17 Kai Orine (NC State)
#12 Allan Hart (Missouri) vs. #18 Ryan Jack (NC State)
#20 Josh Edmond (Missouri) vs. #3 Tariq Wilson (NC State)
#11 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) vs. #28 Ed Scott (NC State)
#3 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri) vs. #16 Thomas Bullard (NC State)
#11 Peyton Mocco (Missouri) vs. #5 Hayden Hidlay (NC State)
#10 Jeremiah Kent (Missouri) vs. #3 Trent Hidlay (NC State)
#5 Rocky Elam (Missouri) vs. #17 Isaac Trumble (NC State)
#12 Zach Elam (Missouri) vs. #27 Owen Trephan (NC State)
Simply put, an amazing dual Each team has all ten of their starters currently ranked. Looking at those rankings, each team has the advantage in five matches. For this preliminary round of pool competition, this is head-and-shoulders the very best dual possible, top to bottom. Even more intriguing is the winner will likely face Iowa!
December 21st
1PM - Mat 1 5th Place Match (Red Pool)
1PM - Mat 2 5th Place Match (Blue Pool)
3PM - Mat 1 3rd Place Match (Red Pool)
3PM - Mat 2 3rd Place Match (Blue Pool)
5PM - Championship Match (Red Pool)
5PM - Championship Match (Blue Pool)
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