Takedown Report

Collegiate Duals reconfigure Top 25 as 2022 comes to a close

Manheim, Pennsylvania – Penn State and NC State remained undefeated and won their respective pools as nine of the nation’s Top 25 teams took part in the Journeymen Collegiate Duals in New Orleans on Monday and Tuesday. Penn State remained No. 1 in the most recent NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll released Thursday. The Nittany Lions closes out 2022 with a 7-0 record, followed by second-ranked Iowa, which also closed out the dual portion of 2020 at 7-0.

The biggest upset to come out of the event from a team perspective was then-No. 22 Northern Iowa upending No. 3 Ohio State 19-13. Northern Iowa fell to NC State 27-12 later in the event, but the Panthers (2-1) jumped nine spots to No. 13 this week. Arizona State (2-0) moved up to third, while Iowa State (7-2) leapt to fourth despite its loss to top-ranked Penn State. Individually, the event saw a number of stellar matchups, including the growing log-jam of results at 197 pounds and NCAA champion Aaron Brooks of Penn State falling to Iowa State’s Marcus Coleman at 184 pounds.

Ohio State dropped four spots to No. 7. Appalachian State (3-1) entered the Top 25 for the first time this year, primarily due to its 19-13 upset win at then-No. 21 North Carolina over the weekend. The Tar Heels went 1-2 at the Collegiate Duals, falling to Penn State and No. 12 Cornell and fell out of the poll this week.

Methodology: The NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is voted on by two coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Each first-place vote is worth 25 points, 24 points for a second-place vote, 23 for a third-place vote and so on through to one point for a 25th-place vote. The poll is based on dual meet results.

NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll
December 22, 2022

December 30, 2022 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Campbell Camels sweep Purdue Duals

WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. – Campbell claimed all three of its matches Tuesday at the Purdue Duals at Holloway Gymnasium.

The Camels (5-4) topped the host Boilermakers (4-3) 29-9, also defeating Drexel (2-4) 19-16, and Utah Valley (1-3) 17-16. CU’s victory over Purdue marked the program’s first ever over a Big 10 Conference opponent.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In Tuesday’s opener, Campbell’s No. 12 Taye Ghadiali edged Utah Valley’s Chase Trussell in the final bout, tying the team scoring at 16-all. The teams split five matches apiece, with Campbell taking the match on criteria, holding a 46-45 advantage in individual points scored.

Against the Dragons, Campbell built an 11-0 lead on the strength of major decisions from Anthony Molton, 12-3, at 125 pounds and Shannon Hanna, 11-0, at 141 before five straight Drexel wins, including a 6-4 decision in extra time for No. 9 Mickey O’Malley over Campbell’s Cole Rees at 174. Levi Hopkins at 197 and Ghadiali at heavyweight, however, closed out the match with major decisions for the Camels, 12-4 and 14-4, to secure the 19-16 victory.  

Campbell notched eight of the 10 matches in its 29-9 win against the host Boilermakers. Molton’s opening 6-4 overtime victory over No. 8 Matt Ramos highlighted the win for the Camels, who also closed out with three bonus point wins, starting with No. 21 Caleb Hopkins topping No. 32 Ben Vanadia 12-2. Levi Hopkins then pinned Hayden Filipovich (2:45), and Ghadiali collected his third win of the day with a 14-4 major decision over Tristan Ruhlman.

CAMEL TALK
“We knew the Purdue Duals was a gauntlet … rest of story at Gocamels.com/news/2022/12/20/wrestling-camels-sweep-purdue-duals

December 30, 2022 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Citadel Bulldogs Pick Up Road Victory at LIU

LONG ISLAND, N.Y. – The Citadel wrestling team improved to 2-0 on the season with a 23-18 victory over LIU Monday night on Long Island.

The Citadel 23, LIU 18
174 – Ben Haubert (CIT) DEC TJ Franden (LIU), 7-4
184 – Gavin Claro (LIU) DEC Micah DiCarlo (CIT), 3-1
197 – Patrick Brophy (CIT) MD Joe Lopresti (LIU), 13-4
285 – John Chesser (CIT) DEC Aeden Begue (LIU), 7-2
125 – Blair Orr (CIT) wins by forfeit
133 – George Rosas (CIT) MD Kaelen Francois (LIU), 8-0
141 – Devin Matthews (LIU) TF Jason Garay (CIT), 16-2 (7:00)
149 – Drew Witham (LIU) FALL Ethan Willis (CIT), 6:03
157 – Selwyn Porter (CIT) DEC Rhise Royster (LIU), 5-1
165 – Blake Bahna (LIU) MD Brodie Porter (CIT), 15-7

How it Happened

• Ben Haubert got the Dogs off to a good start with a decision victory at 174 pounds. With the match tied 2-2 heading into the third period, Haubert got an escape and then a takedown to secure the victory.
• Patrick Brophy got the Bulldogs on the board at 197 pounds. After a pair of takedowns in the opening period, Brophy did one better as he secured his third takedown just before the buzzer.
• Brophy added another takedown … rest of story at Citadelsports.com/news/2022/12/19/wrestling-bulldogs-pick-up-road-victory-at-liu

No. 25 Mountaineers Post Pair of Home Shutouts

BOONE, N.C. — App State Wrestling allowed no team points in a doubleheader that provided plenty of firsts for the Mountaineers.
No. 25 App State opened its SoCon schedule Tuesday night with a 39-0 victory against Bellarmine, then won 50-0 against Division I newcomer Queens with a lineup that included four changes from the opener.
Fourteen wrestlers had a hand raised as the Mountaineers (3-1, 1-0) went 20-for-20 in contested matches, giving them a nation-leading 11 shutouts since the calendar flipped to 2020.
Tommy Askey, Luke Uliano, Carson Floyd, Ethan Oakley, Oren Bost and Chopper Mordecai all picked up their first career dual wins, while Mason Fiscella won a dual match as a heavyweight for the first time.
Five days after a 19-16 team win at No. 21 North Carolina, App State collected bonus points in 13 of its 20 wins and totaled seven pins, including six against Queens. Jon Jon Millner’s two pins required a combined three minutes, 43 seconds of wrestling.
It was the first home dual of the season for the Mountaineers, and the winter break period without students on campus didn’t stop them from drawing 438 fans to Varsity Gym. … rest of story at Appstatesports.com/no-25-mountaineers-post-pair-of-home-shutouts

Cornell Wrestling Leaves Big Easy With Two Wins, Tops #21 North Carolina, 31-9

NEW ORLEANS, La. — The Cornell wrestling team won seven matches, including three by fall, to run past No. 21 North Carolina 31-9 on Tuesday afternoon at the New Orleans Convention Center on day two of the Collegiate Duals. The Big Red evened its record at 2-2 with the victory over the Tar Heels, claiming third place in the Blue Pool.

Cornell raced out to a 9-0 lead after two matches as Brett Ungar topped No. 33 Jack Wagner at 125, then Vito Arujau picked up a second period fall over No. 29 Joey Melendez. Chris Foca and Yianni Diakomihalis each picked up their third wins of the week with bonus points attached, including Foca’s second first-period fall of the tournament, and Brendan Furman scored the final six with his pin of Aydin Guttridge at heavyweight. Both Julian Ramirez (165)and Jacob Cardenas (197) ground out wins to round out the solid victory.

The Big Red improved to 7-2 all-time against the Tar Heels and the 107th victory over a nationally ranked opponent since 1990,

Cornell takes a short holiday break before squaring off with No. 8 Virginia Tech as part of the Flo Duals on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. CT from Austin, Texas.

#12 Cornell 31, #21 North Carolina 9

125: #21 Brett Ungar (Cornell) won by decision over #33 Jack Wagner (North Carolina), 4-0
133: #3 Vito Arujau (Cornell) won by fall over #29 Joey Melendez (North Carolina), 4:25 … rest of story at Cornellbigred.com/12/20/wrestling-leaves-big-easy-with-two-wins-tops-21-north-carolina-31-9

December 30, 2022 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment