The Weekend in the Top Ten (2/5/2024)

We had another great weekend on the mat! A prominent, trophy-contender fell from the rankings of the unbeaten at the hands of a team that lost a heart-breaker last weekend. Additionally, two duals featured top-ten teams squaring off with each other. The fallout from one of those duals was a noteworthy team that lost back-to-back duals for the first time since 2019-20. Here’s what transpired over the weekend in the top ten: 1. Penn State The heavy favorites atop the national rankings continued to prove why they are the best team in the land. Though the Nittany Lions had two upset losses during their dual with sixth-ranked Ohio State, they still managed to cruise to a 19-point win. True freshman Tyler Kasak’s 7-1 victory over ninth-ranked Dylan D’Emilio means that PSU will likely have their entire lineup ranked in the top ten after the new set of rankings drops tomorrow. They’ll also have half of the lineup ranked number one in the nation. The change comes at 141 after Beau Bartlett remained undefeated by downing CKLV champion and third-ranked Jesse Mendez in sudden victory. Next: In one of the most anticipated duals of the season, Penn State travels to Iowa to take on a Hawkeye team that might be a little bit agitated. Not to be overlooked, they’ll also have a rare “Monday Night Wrestling” bout against Rutgers a week from today. 2. Iowa If you looked at the Iowa/Michigan dual, weight-by-weight, you knew that it was going to be much closer than a typical #2 vs. #13 matchup usually is. Michigan dropped after losses to Ohio State and South Dakota State, the latter was while they were missing a handful of starters. From the get-go, Iowa found themselves in a hole losing the first five matches of the dual. Michael DeAugustino and Will Lewan both notched tiebreaker wins over Drake Ayala and Jared Franek at 125 and 157, respectively. Top-ranked 141 lber Real Woods was put on his back and majored by true freshman Sergio Lemely. Iowa’s wins came from 165 lber Michael Caliendo, 184 lber Aiden Riggins, and Zach Glazier at 197. I’m sure many Hawkeye fans will view this loss as “the sky is falling,” however, simply flipping the results at 125/157, both tiebreaker losses, brings the score to one point in Michigan’s favor. Next: Iowa gets to step right back into the fire on Friday night as they host top-ranked Penn State. Initially, we expected this dual to have two #1 vs. #2 matchups; however, with the losses by Iowa on Friday, that probably won’t be the case. Even so, those matches will still be must-watch. 3. Oklahoma State With Iowa on the end of a one-sided loss to Michigan, it’s Oklahoma State’s turn to climb into the second spot in the national rankings, as they are the only unbeaten team in the country, aside from Penn State. Oklahoma State continued to rack up solid wins as they hosted and defeated #19 Arizona State on Friday, then traveled to #9 Missouri on Sunday and grabbed a win that was much more lopsided than initially expected. Redshirt freshman Troy Spratley was one of the standouts from the weekend as he picked up wins over #7 Noah Surtin (Missouri) and #11 Richie Figueroa (Arizona State). The Mizzou dual was expected to be close and a sudden victory win in the opening bout got his team off on the right foot in what ended up being a 24-10 win. Aside from Spratley’s win, the Arizona State dual generally went as you would expect. The Mizzou dual saw Oklahoma State pull upsets over returning All-American’s at 157 and 174 lbs. At 157 lbs, Teague Travis used an early takedown to outlast former high school teammate Brock Mauller. Brayden Thompson prevailed in an overtime scramble to put Peyton Mocco on his back during an 8-1 upset. Also of note, Sam Smith received a forfeit at 133 lbs, as Daton Fix bumped up to 141 lbs and edged #26 Josh Edmond. Next: On Saturday, Oklahoma State hosts #11 South Dakota State in a dual that’s filled with interesting matchups. 4. Nebraska The Cornhuskers only took the mat once this weekend (Saturday) and put together a 29-9 victory over #26 Illinois. Nebraska won eight of ten matches on the day and one of those came at 149 lbs, where top-ranked Ridge Lovett did not wrestle. Two Nebraska wrestlers, Brock Hardy and Silas Allred, logged falls against the Illini. After a loss to Iowa’s Glazier, Allred has rebounded with five straight wins, the last four coming via pin or tech fall. Next: Another big match on Friday night will feature Nebraska against #13 Michigan (soon to be higher). This dual is loaded with good matchups, including one at 149 lbs that featured the top two wrestlers in the conference (Lovett and Austin Gomez). 5. Iowa State It was business as usual for Kevin Dresser’s team as they dispatched #25 West Virginia on Sunday, 29-11. The Cyclones fell in last week’s mega-dual to undefeated Oklahoma State, but bounced back nicely taking seven of ten matches from the tough Mountaineers. One of the high points for ISU came at 149 lbs as Casey Swiderski knocked off super-freshman Ty Watters, 7-4 in sudden victory. Swiderski is now 3-0 with three ranked wins since coming back from a knee injury that sidelined him for almost two months. In a match between a pair of past All-Americans, David Carr got past Peyton Hall, 10-5 at 165 lbs. A match later, redshirt freshman MJ Gaitan pinned fellow freshman #17 Brody Conley in only :37 seconds. Next: On Sunday, Iowa State will face in-state rival #16 Northern Iowa. Great matches are possible at 141/157/285. This dual always seems to be fun and heated, so don’t miss it! 6. Ohio State While the 28-9 loss to Penn State looks unsightly, there were some bright spots for the Buckeyes. At 133 lbs, redshirt freshman Nic Bouzakis knocked off returning All-American and Big Ten finalist #5 Aaron Nagao, 13-7. True freshman Ryder Rogotzke pinned three-time All-American Bernie Truax while trailing in the second period. Ohio State got back on the mats Sunday as they faced #14 Rutgers. The final score was 22-12 in Ohio State’s favor which probably seemed like a good prediction. How each team went about amassing those points was pretty hard to predict. 125 lber Brendan McCrone pulled a slight upset defeating Dean Peterson, 7-1. 197 lber Luke Geog edged 2021 All-American John Poznanski 4-3 and heavyweight Nick Feldman continued to impress with a 4-2 win over seventh-ranked Yaraslau Slavikouski. On the flip side, Bouzakis was an upset victim at 133 lbs and Rogotzke was pinned by Brian Soldano at 184 lbs. 149 lber Dylan D’Emilio fell to 0-2 on the weekend with a sudden victory loss to Michael Cetta. Next: Ohio State has their home finale on Sunday as they host #28 Indiana. 7. NC State For the second consecutive week, NC State thumped an ACC opponent by more than 25 points. Last week it was Pittsburgh, this time it was North Carolina - to the tune of 33-6. After a head coaching change in Chapel Hill, Rob Koll’s team was looking to reclaim the Triangle as their own; however, Pat Popolizio’s team had other plans. In the most anticipated bout of the evening, Ryan Jack edged rival Lachlan McNeil, 4-2 at 141 lbs. With that weight being deep and unpredictable in the ACC, I’d anticipate a couple more meetings between these two in 2023-24. Of note, Jarrett Trombley got a second consecutive start for the Wolfpack at 125 lbs. He responded with a solid win over #29 Spencer Moore. Also, All-American Ed Scott was beaten in sudden victory by Sonny Santiago at 157 lbs. Next: The ACC slate continues on Friday night as NC State hosts Virginia. 8. Cornell Last weekend saw Cornell with three duals over two days. This one wasn’t as packed with only one on Saturday against Columbia. Cornell took seven of ten matches during a 32-9 win. They were boosted by techs from Vito Arujau (133), Meyer Shapiro (157), and Julian Ramirez (165), along with a fall from Lewis Fernandes (285). One of the down notes for Cornell was Chris Foca falling for the second time this year to Aaron Ayzerov at 184 lbs. Foca had been on an eight-match winning streak, six of which came via bonus points. Next: Saturday will feature Cornell on the road against Ivy League foes Penn and Princeton. 9. Missouri You have to go back to the 2019-20 season to find the last time that the Missouri Tigers dropped back-to-back duals. That rarity popped up again on Sunday as Mizzou dropped a 24-10 dual to third-ranked Oklahoma State. The Cowboys won the first five matches of the dual and held an 18-0 lead. Missouri’s first win came from their most decorated wrestler, two-time national champion and top-ranked, Keegan O’Toole. O’Toole got by Izzak Olejnik 5-1 at 165 lbs. The Elam brothers at the end of the lineup accounted for the only other wins for the Tigers. Rocky posted a 8-0 major decision, while Zach edged #9 Konner Doucet, 1-0. Next: Missouri will have off next week before facing the Dakota schools the following weekend. 10. Minnesota The Gophers were at home all weekend and added a pair of Big Ten wins to their ledger by crushing Maryland and Northwestern. Across the two dual meets, Brandon Eggum’s team only dropped two individual matches. Against Maryland, Vance VomBaur and Michael Blockhus picked up wins against ranked opponents. Blockhus’ 8-5 win over Trevor Chumbley represented the most significant win in Minnesota’s 39-0 shutout of Northwestern. The Gopher contingent at 133-149 all won against Northwestern via tech fall. Next: For the second consecutive week, Minnesota will have to deal with a pair of Big Ten opponents. Both are road duals.

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The Weekend in the Top Ten (2/5/2024)

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