What Willie's Watching (1/5/2024)

I’ve been sick as a dog for a month and traveling non-stop, which is why I haven’t done a show in a while. But you know I’m chomping at the bit to talk about Cornell mailing it in at Collegiate Duals, AJ Ferrari’s unprecedented double bird splits, and why duals just don’t matter despite very intelligent and life-long wrestling people insisting that they do. Case in point, last night #9 Michigan sat at least 40% of their lineup in a dual loss to #13 South Dakota State. Call them ducks. Call them rest. Call them load management. Call them whatever you will. When fans tune in to see Chris Cannon and get Nolan Wertanan, we’re bummed. And if the past is a prologue we’re in for more of it. Earl has a nice write-up on all the big individual matches slated for this weekend. But before he even published he told me, ‘I’m bracing for the worst.’ Editor's Note: We now have reason to believe that the matchup pictured (Vito Arujau/Sam Latona) on the referenced article will not occur. I’m hoping the scratches will be limited, but you best believe those that don’t materialize are going to be added to the war chest above which I will rant about next week. Here’s what else I’m burning on this weekend. 5. Nash Hutmacher To Debut For The Husker It could be something; it could be nothing. But Nebraska has a team this year that is very strong in both dual and tournament formats. A four-time state champ and Fargo titleist, Hutmacher, the starting nose tackle for the football team, shed 45 lbs to make weight for this weekend’s tri-meet vs. Wyoming and Northern Iowa. While my optimism is muted, it will certainly be interesting. It’s a rare occurrence when we get a starting DI football player coming back to wrestling. I’m skeptical of anyone who’s been off the mat for that amount of time. But if he proves to be even just ‘solid’ he’ll boost an already Top 4 dual team. 4. Cohlton Schultz Returns in Banger vs. Yonger A big old zero. That’s what I’ve been earning at HWT in my fantasy league all nine weeks this year because Cohlton Schultz is the only 285 I have on the roster and he’s yet to wrestle. But indications from ASU communications are that the perennial All-American will indeed go this weekend. And his first match is a doozy: Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida who is up to #3 in the country after wrestling 197 last year. It’s not only a Top 5 matchup, but a clash in styles as Schultz is among the largest 285’s and a Greco specialist while Yonger is among the smallest and a free-wheeling leg attacker. 3. Oklahoma State in Raleigh This dual was supposed to take place on a Navy base in Sicily. But when tensions arose in Israel the plan was scrapped. What that means to me is that I didn’t get the excuse to go to a place I’ve wanted to see for a long time. But it’s good news for you because now you won’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to watch what should be an amazing dual. Six of the ten matchups feature opponents ranked within five spots of each other. 2. Braeden Davis’ Audition I’ve been the conductor of the start-Braeden-Davis train. He got the nod vs. Hofstra on December 12th and should get his first high-caliber opponent this weekend in #15-Brandon Kaylor, a former All-American. Davis is 8-0 on the year winning six by bonus. I already think Davis should be the full-time starter and postseason entry, but a win over Kaylor should put the issue to rest for the Nittany Lions. 1. Meyer’s Big Weekend The no-brainer #1 prospect of 2023, Meyer Shapiro came into college with much fanfare after winning world titles in both the Cadet and Junior divisions. His first college assignment was the uber-tough CKLV where he started off hot with a 16-4 major over All-American Bryce Andonian. But just when we started to crown him this year’s NCAA Champ, he fell to #7 Daniel Cardenas and then, in an uninspiring bout where he just didn’t look himself, to #14 Trevor Chumbley. While we thought we’d get a chance to see him rebound at Collegiate Duals, he didn’t go against Iowa State’s Cody Chittum. But he’ll have a couple good ones this weekend with #12 Paddy Gallagher (on Friday) who’s wrestling the best he has in his college career and then (on Sunday) Andonian again.

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What Willie's Watching (1/5/2024)

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