Takedown Report

College wrestling midseason awards for 2023-24

With the Cliff Keen Invitational and Collegiate Duals in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take stock of where some of the nation’s top wrestlers and early stars stand. Who has had the best start to the season? Who is primed for a breakout moment come January? Which teams have impressed the most? These are all questions that will be answered in the first annual NCAA Wrestling Midseason Awards presentation below. 
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Keep in mind, these awards are based on performances from Nov. 1-Dec. 20, 2023. There’s a lot of wrestling still to come before the 10 individual champions are crowned in March. For now though, these are some of the midseason stars who deserve recognition.

Biggest upset of the year: Ryan Crookham (Lehigh) over Vito Arujau (Cornell) 8-4

Finalists: Julian Ramirez (Cornell) over David Carr (Iowa State) 4-3, Lorenzo Norman (Stanford) over Shane Griffith (Michigan) 4-2

Within the first week of the season, absolute chaos broke loose in college wrestling. Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham was the leader of this disruption.

The Mountain Hawk rookie started the season on a hot streak, sweeping his 133-pound bracket at the Princeton Open with 100% bonus, but he really made a name for himself the following weekend, at the Journeymen Classic. He teched Jacob Cox of N.C. State and beat his teammate, then No. 6-ranked Connor McGonagle, before facing off against (and defeating) 2023 senior world champion and NCAA champion Vito Arujau. Cornell’s Arujau, who beat two-time NCAA champion Roman Bravo-Young in last year’s national championship, had not lost a folkstyle match prior to this contest since Jan. 6, 2023 when he dropped to Virginia Tech All-American Sam Latona. Arujau was considered one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the NCAA this season, someone who had jumped level and someone who could compete for an Olympic spot in March. … story at … NCAA.com/news/wrestling/College-wrestling-midseason-awards-2023-24

January 1, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized