Takedown Report

Division I Results

The following are just some of the matches last weekend.

Pitt Falls to West Virginia in Backyard Brawl Dual

PITTSBURGH—The Backyard Brawl proved to be just that in Sunday’s Pitt-West Virginia wrestling match, with several contests coming down to crazy scrambles and last-second decisions.
 
Unfortunately for the No. 21 Panthers, the Mountaineers (6-1) won the majority of those crucial moments and emerged from Fitzgerald Field House with a 24-11 dual victory.
 
Winning bouts for the Panthers were No. 7 Micky Phillippi at 133 pounds with a major decision over WVU’s Davin Rhoads, Luca Augustine at 174 pounds with a nice win over Brody Conley and No. 2 Nino Bonaccorsi at 197 pounds with a typically dominant performance against Brian Finnerty.
 
Close defeats defined the dual. The Panthers (5-2) fell in tight bouts at 125 pounds, 141, 157 and lost key scrambles that determined outcomes at 165 and 184 pounds.
 
“Disappointed with losing so many matches that were decided in the third period,” Pitt head coach Keith Gavin said afterwards. “Give credit to West Virginia; they wrestled tough. But we need to work on some things and come back strong next time out.” … rest of story at Pittsburghpanthers.com/news/2023/1/8/wrestling-pitt-falls-to-west-virginia-in-backyard-brawl-dual

NO. 22 MARYLAND WRESTLING SPLITS MATCHES WITH INDIANA, LOSES ON CRITERIA POINTS

COLLEGE PARK, MD — No. 22 Maryland and Indiana each won five matches, including one major decision apiece, but Indiana held a 57-46 advantage in total points to clinch the criteria point tiebreaker and win the dual, 17-16. 

After falling behind 9-3 in the team score, the Terps (6-0, 1-0 Big Ten) reeled off three consecutive wins at 197, 285 and 125. Kal Miller put the Terps up 16-13 with a big sudden victory decision over a ranked opponent, but No. 33 Graham Rooks took a 5-3 decision to tie the bout at 16-16. … rest of story at UMterps.com/news/2023/1/9/wrestling-wrest-iu-recap

Key takeaways from No. 1 Penn State wrestling’s 28-11 win over No. 11 Wisconsin

In the first six bouts of Friday’s night dual between No. 1 Penn State and No. 12 Wisconsin, the Badgers did everything they could to keep the score close. They racked up an early tech fall at 125, they won a big ranked bout at 149 and they earned bonus points at 165 pounds. They were in this match, at least through the first half. But, in the end, the Nittany Lions did what they have done so many times: they took over in the upper weights. 

LOOKING AHEAD: Biggest names and teams to know in college wrestling in 2023

Headlined by Aaron Brooks’ technical fall over Tyler Dow, Penn State rolled out four of the five most dominant wrestlers in its lineup in the second half of the dual and pulled away for a definitive victory 28-11 against the Badgers. Here’s what we learned about the statement performance from the Blue and White in Madison. 

Bonus points defined Friday night’s performances

Between Wisconsin and Penn State, Friday night’s starters put up a total of 169 points across the ten matches, with the Nittany Lions outsourcing their opponents 105-64. 

Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett and Penn State’s Aaron Brooks … rest of story at NCAA.com/news/wrestling/article/2023-01-07/key-takeaways-penn-state-wrestlings-28-11-win-over-no-11-wisconsin

New year, new storylines: Top names and teams to know for the rest of the 2022-2023 college wrestling season

Here’s a look ahead at some of the interesting storylines still to come and athletes to watch that may have been under the radar at the start of the year: 

Southern Scuffle features another slate of top-tier matchups 

The annual Southern Scuffle held in Chattanooga, TN is the best way to start the new year. 

MIDLANDS & SOLDIER SALUTE: Here are the key results from the other major winter tournaments

This season, nearly two dozen teams are competing in this southern event with the hopes of picking up some individual-ranked wins and setting themselves up for a strong second half of the year. The Missouri Tigers won this event in 2022, but with the absence of former Scuffle champs Keegan O’Toole and Rocky Elam, the Tigers will have a harder time defending their crown. They’ll be pushed most intensely by fellow Big 12 foe, Oklahoma State, as the Cowboys bring a number of ranked wrestlers and national qualifiers to the mat including three-time NCAA runner-up Daton Fix and All-Americans Travis Wittlake, Dustin Plott and Wyatt Sheets. 

On an individual level, Stanford’s Shane Griffith will start the year looking for his second career Scuffle title at 165 pounds while Northern Colorado’s Andrew Alirez works to win his first crown in Chattanooga following a hot start to the season for the veteran Bear wrestler. The Scuffle always brings great storylines and exciting bouts, and this year will be no different. But the excitement doesn’t end when the finals are over on January 2. The rest of the wrestling season brings even more intrigue and interest and teams begin preparing for conference duals and peaking for the postseason. 

The rise of Iowa State expected to continue behind strong freshmen and stellar leadership

The Iowa State Cyclones have been one of the biggest stories of the season thus far, as they came out of the gates on fire with dominant wins over Little Rock, Campbell and, most notably No. 11 Wisconsin. The team has no fear and no doubts. Led by NCAA champion David Carr and All-Americans Marcus Coleman and Yonger Bastida, the Cyclones gave the Iowa Hawkeyes everything they had during the annual Cy-Hawk dual, winning five matches and finishing within three points of the 2021 NCAA champion Hawks. … rest of story at NCAA.com/news/wrestling/article/2023-01-01/new-year-new-storylines-top-names-and-teams-know-rest-2022-2023-college-wrestling

January 12, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized