Takedown Report

End of Season College Matches – part 2

Beavers Soundly Defeat Stanford on Sunday
STANFORD, Calif. – Bookending the 2023-24 season with ranked wins on the road, the 21^st-ranked Oregon State wrestling team spoiled #15 Stanford’s senior day with a 29-11 win on Sunday afternoon. The Beavers (7-5) quickly made their presence known by taking the afternoon’s first three duals with decisions by Brandon Kaylor (125) and Cleveland Belton (141) and a first-period fall by Gabe Whisenhunt at 133. Needing just a takedown as separation for the ranked win over 16^th-ranked Nico Provo, Kaylor used it late in the third when they were knotted at 1. Kaylor stopped Provo’s comeback attempt as he tried to chip away late before Kaylor clinched it with a final takedown at 7-3.
Whisenhunt quickly piled up points as he pinned his opponent, Dominic Lajoie, needing just 2:20 to do it. Belton grabbed a ranked win for himself, taking a decision from 31^st-ranked Jason Miranda. The Californian tallied the last four points of the bout following Miranda’s initial escape to open the second with an escape of his own and a near-fall. The homestanding Cardinal responded with a pair of major decisions at 149 and 157 then again at 165 to chip away at the Beavers’ lead.
With more than two minutes’ worth of riding time, Matthew Olguin got the team out of the skid as he took the 174 lb. bout over Abraham Wojcikiewicz by decision at 10-2. Trey Munoz held off Jack Darrah’s upset bid at 184 but he took a decision win at 5-1. … story at … OSUbeavers.com/Beavers-soundly-defeat-stanford-on-sunday
And …

HAWKEYES BULLY BADGERS, 34-7
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The fourth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team defeated Wisconsin, 34-7, on Sunday afternoon on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa won eight of 10 bouts, including six via bonus points. The Hawkeyes recorded 30 takedowns to Wisconsin’s six, and Iowa outscored the Badgers 120-49 in match points. “We have to focus on what is ahead,” said head coach Tom Brands. “That’s what we did after those losses. We are going to Stillwater, Oklahoma, in one week, and the postseason looms.”
The dual started at 125 pounds with Wisconsin getting on the board first. Third-ranked Eric Barnett won an, 8-0, major decision over Joey Cruz. The Hawkeyes responded with a pair of big wins from a pair of wrestlers making their final appearance in Carver-Hawkeye arena. At 133 Brody Teske put together a 19-4 technical fall win over Nicolar Rivera, and at 141 No. 2 Real Woods needed just 4:37 to pin Felix Lettini. “Winning just brings good spirits,” said Woods. “So, I guess spiritually it helps. But this team is full of men who know how to fight through adversity and adversity catapults people like us. It doesn’t bring us down. It really helps us more than anything.” “Sometimes you have to right the wrongs and right the ship,” said Brands. “Real went out there and got back to the roots a little bit. I think it was partly my fault, trying to push him into certain things. Just go out and wrestle your match how you want to wrestle and score a lot of points. It doesn’t matter how you get it done. He righted the wrong. We are on a one-match win streak, and we are going to Stillwater, Oklahoma.” … story at … Hawkeyesports.com/Hawkeye-bully-badgers-34-7
And …

‘Cats Power Past No. 23 Indiana, 19-18
Illinois downed Northwestern on criteria, 21-20, in day’s closing dual
EVANSTON, Ill. (February 18, 2024) – Trevor Chumbley, Troy Fisher, and Evan Bates enjoyed 2-0 days as Northwestern wrestling (1-9, 1-7 B1G) split a pair of duals to close the 2023-24 regular season this afternoon inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.  The Wildcats opened action with a 19-18 win over No. 23 Indiana before dropping a narrow 21-20 decision to Illinois on criteria in the finale.
Chumbley impressed in his 157-pound clash with the Hoosiers’ Zack Rotkvich.  After building a sizable lead entering the third period, the St. Charles, Ill. native closed the show, securing the fall just 25 seconds in.  Chumbley wrapped up his third bonus-point win of the weekend against Illinois’ Logan Swaw, rolling to a 22-6 win by technical fall (4:55). … story at … NUsports.com/Cats-power-past-no-23-indiana-19-18
And …

No. 7 Missouri Wrestling Overpowers NDSU, 32-6
FARGO, N.D. – The No. 7-ranked University of Missouri wrestling team earned a road conference win, defeating North Dakota State, 32-6, in Fargo, N.D., on Friday, Feb. 16. The conference win moves Missouri to 9-2 this season and 5-2 in the Big 12, while NDSU falls to 3-10 and is 2-4 in league matches. Redshirt junior Noah Surtin started the team off with a major decision at 125 pounds (20-8), and freshman Drew Stanfield followed with a win in his first dual start, finishing 12-5 at 133 pounds. In the 141-pound match, redshirt sophomore Josh Edmond added a major (15-2) to put Mizzou up 11-0 early. Redshirt senior Brock Mauller carried the Tigers into the break with a decision (2-0) at 157 pounds.
After the break, junior Keegan O’Toole picked up the fall in the third period at 165 pounds. Redshirt senior Peyton Mocco kept the bonus points coming with a major decision (17-3) of his own in the 174-pound match. Earning the first technical fall of the night was redshirt freshman Clayton Whiting, 20-3, at 184. Closing out the night, redshirt senior Zach Elam won by a 9-4 decision in the 285 bout. … story at … MUtigers.com/No-7-wrestling-overpowers-ndsu-32-6
And …

Army Wrestling Wins Star Match at Navy
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Army West Point Wrestling rode early match wins and withstood multiple runs from the Navy Midshipmen at Navy’s Alumni Hall to win the Star on Friday night, defeating its arch rival 18-17 in the dual match. The Black Knights even the Star Series Presented by USAA, 9-9-1 with the Wrestling win. Nate Lukez begun the dual with a triumphant, 11-1 major decision in the 157lb division. The Black Knights followed with signature win in the 165lb when Gunner Filipowicz won a 5-4 thriller over star Midshipman Andrew Cerniglia—who came into the duel with 15 consecutive wins. 
After Ben Pasiuk extended Army’s team lead to 10-0, the Midshipmen trimmed the lead to 10-9 off three consecutive match wins, including a sudden victory in the heavyweight bout. The Black Knights however would answer with a technical fall from Ethan Berginc in the 125lb match, and a 5-4 thriller in the 133lb from Braden Basile.  Army’s 18-9 lead was robust enough at that point to stand, even in spite of a pair of Navy major decisions to conclude the dual. … story at … GOarmywestpoint.com/Wrestling-wins-star-match-at-navy
And …

Why the regular season still matters to John Smith
Luke Surber may have slipped up when discussing how frustrating his injury-plagued season has been.“I just remind myself that nothing really matters ‘til March,” he said. Such a statement would imply No. 2 Oklahoma State’s 13-0 record and upcoming home duals against Oklahoma and Iowa aren’t important. Surber corrected himself when the News Press asked him about that statement. “I shouldn’t say nothing matters ‘til March,” Surber said. “But we could have this great season, but it’s judged on March – Big 12 and nationals.”
He was right the first time, especially for a program as decorated as Oklahoma State. If the Cowboys have a disappointing finish in the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships, it would look even worse than the past two seasons because of their re-emergence. Given the framework of Division I wrestling, the regular season is less indicative of tournament quality than most other sports. At this time a year ago, Pittsburgh was ranked seventh. It finished outside the top 20 at the NCAA tournament, despite having an individual national champion. Yet, an individual champion helped North Carolina and Coleman Scott jump from 21st in February 2023 to 12th in the national tournament.
So what’s the point of dual meets if they have a negligible impact on the final results? For coach John Smith, they’re everything for growing wrestling’s popularity. “I think one of the disappointing things is that we have a dual meet season, and at the end of the season, we go to conference for two days and we go to nationals for three days,” Smith said. “That really judges your season, and somehow we need to continue to make these dual meets more important.” Many college wrestling coaches, including Smith, have been proponents of an event similar to Dual State tournaments in high school. “I fought for that for 15 years, and I think the less I fight for it, it’ll probably happen,” Smith said. “Sometimes change has been a little tough in wrestling.” … story at … STWnewspress.com/Why-the-regular-season-still-matters-to-john-smith
And …

Columbia Wrestling Downs Harvard, 29-14
The Lions were explosive, with three pins in their win over the Crimson
NEW YORK — Columbia wrestling used three pins to pick up a 29-14 victory over Harvard Friday afternoon. Nick Babin started the day off with a fall in the opening frame, followed by an upset win by Kyle Mosher at 165 against No. 28 Joshua Kim, and Vincent Mueller sealed the deal with a late pin in heavyweight. Babin wasted little time getting the Lions (3-8, 2-3) on the board at 125, earning a pin in just 2:19 over Isaiah Adams to put Columbia in front, 6-0. The Crimson crawled back within one after a technical fall in the 133-pound matchup and grabbed the lead, 8-6, after an 8-1 decision at 141.
Harvard extended the lead to 12-6 after a major decision win. However, Jaden Le came away with a narrow 2-1 victory in 157 after picking up points via penalty and an escape. After the match, the Crimson were docked a team point due to unsportsmanlike conduct before Mosher put the Lions back in front in his upset win at 165. With time winding down in the first period, the senior arched backward and used his leverage to pick up a defensive pin at 165, earning Columbia’s second fall victory of the day at 2:38 to make it 15-11 in favor of the Lions. In the most anticipated matchup of the day, No. 16 Lennox Wolak and No. 5 Phil Conigliaro’s 174 match went the distance. The bout was 4-2 in the final minute, but a late score by Conigliaro sealed the Harvard win to make it a one-point contest. … story at … GOcolumbialions.com/Wrestling-downs-harvard-29-14

February 25, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized