Takedown Report

Let them Wrestle: DII National Champs vs DI

By Bryce Villa
We all sit around going “What If” to any number of scenarios when it comes to wrestling. What if the Hawkeyes of the early 1990s took on Penn State of the last three years? What if Dan Gable fought a bear? What if Adam Coon had to fight an alien armada by himself? What if the champions from the other divisions were allowed to compete at the NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling national tournament? 
This last one has been answered in the past. They were allowed up until 1990 and that is why you have Division II athletes among the ranks of All-Americans and champions. With the freshman being grandfathered in, the last athlete to compete in both national tournaments did so in 1994. Most Division II fans know why this happened, his name was Carlton Haselrig. Do you think Division I coaches and athletes liked seeing a wrestler come into their national tournament and dominate for three straight years? He was the end of an era, but what a way to go out. Gone are the days of Division II and III champions getting their shot, but after my first trip to the Division II national tournament, I find myself wondering, what if. If you are wondering as well, read along as I look at the field for each weight class in Pittsburgh and try to decide what would have happened. I am not about to reseed the entire weight class, but I will set them in the bracket somewhere based on their national championship and any Division I competition faced during the season. I even asked their coaches how they think they would have performed and I love the coach speak I received in each reply. Rest of the story at https://news.theopenmat.com/college-wrestling-news/let-them-wrestle-dii-national-champs-vs-di/73589?mc_cid=c1d91f7bc1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

July 19, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized