Takedown Report

NCAA D1 Week 13 Roundup: The Heat Is On

The world’s finest collection of noteworthy happenings from the 13th week of the 2023-24 NCAA D1 wrestling season
It’s the dead of winter, but the dual meet season is heating up! Week 13 of the 2023-24 NCAA D1 wrestling season ushered forth a new batch of stellar dual meets replete with noteworthy happenings, which we will recount below in our award-winning roundup!
Box Scores | Rankings | Last Week’s Roundup
Hopefully, the NFL playoffs didn’t distract you too much from the incredible college wrestling season that is taking place. 
I’m not saying you can’t watch any NFL games, that would be practically impossible given their ubiquity in American culture, I’m just saying make sure you leave some room for the world’s oldest and greatest sport as well. 
But if all you do to remain a wise and learned wrestling fan is read this blog, well, that’s okay too. 

The Dual of the Century, of the Week

Freshmen phenom Feldman forecloses on the Wolverines

This is the heat of which I speak. Two evenly matched teams. Unexpected heroics. A volcanic rivalry that burns with the intensity of a thousand suns. 
Let’s check out the box score shall we? 
125: #17 Michael DeAugustino (MICH) over #21 Brendan McCrone (OHST) (TF 16-1 6:05)
133: #4 Dylan Ragusin (MICH) over #10 Nic Bouzakis (OHST) (MD 15-6) 
141: #3 Jesse Mendez (OHST) over (MICH) (For.) 
149: #6 Austin Gomez (MICH) over #7 Dylan D’Emilio (OHST) (MD 17-6) 
157: #13 Will Lewan (MICH) over #23 Isaac Wilcox (OHST) (TB-1 5-2) 
165: #12 Bryce Hepner (OHST) over Beau Mantanona (MICH) (Dec 12-10) 
174: #3 Shane Griffith (MICH) over #14 Rocco Welsh (OHST) (Dec 2-1) 
184: Ryder Rogotzke (OHST) over #14 Jaden Bullock (MICH) (TF 21-0 5:00) 
197: #23 Luke Geog (OHST) over Rylan Rogers (MICH) (Dec 9-4) 
285: #16 Nick Feldman (OHST) over #4 Lucas Davison (MICH) (Dec 4-3)
Michigan was without the services of 141-pounder Sergio Lemley, who was flagged at skin check and ruled ineligible to compete. That forced the Wolverines to forfeit as they did not have a backup 133 or 141-pounder with them. It’s worth noting that the NCAA limits the number of wrestlers that can travel to away trips to 13. 
Michigan got bonus points from the first four Wolverines that did take the mat including a key overtime victory at 157. Things looked bleak for the Buckeyes in their home gym after Will Lewan outlasted Isaac Wilcox before intermission. 
But the sold-out crowd in the Covelli Center had much to cheer for in the second half of the dual.  Bryce Hepner got things rolling for the Buckeyes by winning a shootout with Michigan’s talented true freshman Beau Mantanona. Mantanona performed admirably while spelling teammate and All-American Cam Amine at 165, and will likely still keep his redshirt for the remainder of the season. 
Another true freshman, this time for the Buckeyes, also performed admirably in a loss. Rocco Welsh, who will be getting the postseason nod after his All-American teammate Carson Khachla suffered a season-ending injury, lost via third-period ride out to 2021 NCAA champ Shane Griffith. 
Three Ohio State wins closed out the dual, including an unexpected tech-fall from yet another true freshman, Ryder Rogotzke over 14th ranked Jaden Bullock. Rogotzke will also be able to keep his redshirt eligibility this season, with either Seth Shumate or Gavin Hoffman taking his place in the postseason lineup.  Finally, there was the massive upset by redshirt freshman Nick Feldman to clinch the dual and send the Buckeye faithful into a frenzy. 
Had Lemley been able to wrestle, he would have faced #3 Jesse Mendez, and Ohio State still would have been significant favorites in that match, however, in hindsight, all Lemley would have had to do was last the full seven minutes and Michigan would have won the dual. Alas, that will be one of the big ‘what ifs’ of the season for the Wolverines. And if my meager recap of the dual was inadequate, JD Rader wrote a whole live blog for you, which you can read here. 

There Were Other Rivalries Duals This Week

The Citadel defends their home gym against VMI

While not on the same scale as the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, the Citadel-VMI rivalry is as fierce as they come. This year’s annual dual between the two premier southern military academics went the Bulldog’s way as Citadel won 35-3

Oklahoma State tops Iowa State in ancient Big 8 rivalry

The Cowboys and the Cyclones have been duking it out for over a century. Their first dual was in 1921, won by Iowa State 37-3. The heydey of this rivalry was in the 60s and 70s, when the two teams combined for 12 NCAA titles over two decades, back when they were both in the Big 8, a conference that later merged with the Southwest Conference to form what is now the Big 12.  Both programs are tending up, and this year’s dual featured 17 ranked wrestlers. Oklahoma State prevailed 21-12 thanks to a major by #2 Plott over #9 Feldkamp at 184 and a major by true freshman Jersey Robb over #29 Broderson at 197. The highlight for the Cyclones was #2 David Carr defeating #3 Izzak Olejnik 8-1 at 165. You can read more about in our live blog by the celebrated Kyle Klingman.  Oklahoma State also beat UNI 22-12 in what was a very successful weekend in Stillwater for the Cowboys against Iowan opponents. 

Penn State hammered Maryland in the Mason-Dixon Line Rivalry

I made that rivalry up although maybe Penn State and Maryland want to start using it? It’s a free idea, there for the taking! Anyway, this wasn’t much of a rivalry as Penn State rocked the Terps to the tune of four pins, two tech-falls and two majors in a 42-6 victory. Aaron Nagao did not wrestle at 133 and neither did either Tyler Kasak or David Evans 141. Kasak and Evans were both at the Mat Town Open II, where Kasak beat Evans in the finals 4-2, however. I’m not sure Coach Sanderson has made a final decision at that weight yet. Also, I live blogged the dual, which you can read here.

Bonus points propel Cleveland State over Ohio

Not as storied a rivalry as others, as Cleveland State only joined Ohio in the MAC a few years ago ,but still a nice intra-state dual that came down to the final bout. The Vikings won 197 and 285 to complete the come-from-behind victory, 24-19. 
Both schools still have Kent State on the schedule. If CSU can defeat the Golden Flashes they’ll lay claim to being the best MAC team in Ohio. And if they want to make a trophy for that I would support it. Just another idea for the taking, gratis. 

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