Takedown Report

NCAA Division I Nationals – K.C. – 2024

Note; There are numerous pages, reports and sources for information about the D-I Nationals or “The Big Show” as it is called by us wrestling fans. There are reports of some other sporting event this weekend but who can notice that with all this wrestling going on?!
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NCAA announces at-large selections for 2024 DI wrestling championships
INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA announced the 47 at-large selections for the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Kansas City. 
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The at-large selections, listed in alphabetical order in each weight class, join the 283 student-athletes that qualified through their conference tournament finishes over the weekend.  The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, ratings percentage index, coaches ranking and conference tournament finish.
🤼‍♂️ Click here for the full field qualifiers list
… story at … NCAA.com/news/NCAA-announces-large-selections-2024-di-wrestling-championships
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Breaking down the 2024 NCAA wrestling at-large bids
With the final 47 at-large bids officially allocated today, all 330 NCAA qualifiers have now been announced. Let’s break down some of the most notable at-large bid decisions. 
All-Americans Will Feldkamp, Carter Starocci, Bryce Andonian, Brandon Kaylor and Michael Blockhus earn at-large bids 
The biggest story heading into the 2024 conference weekend was the health of Penn State’s three-time NCAA champion Carter Starocci at 174 pounds. After injuring his leg in his final match against Edinboro, Starocci’s status was uncertain. The Penn State coaches did not provide any specifics on the nature of Starocci’s injury or his potential to compete for another Big Ten title, but a social media clip posted by the team’s account featuring Starocci walking into the Xfinity Center in College Park, Maryland ahead of the Big Ten tournament prompted fans to think that Starocci might have been healthy enough to wrestle and earn an auto-qualifying spot. … story at … NCAA.com/news/wrestling/Breaking-down-2024-ncaa-wrestling-large-bids
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2024 NCAA wrestling championships: Schedule, brackets, results
Brackets for the 2024 Division I wrestling championship have been revealed following the selection show on NCAA.com. Below are championship matchups along with all 47 at-large selections. 
Click to see 2024 brackets.
Click for all 47 at-large selections. … story at … NCAA.com/d1/2024-ncaa-wrestling-championships-schedule-brackets
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The Best Wrestlers Who Didn’t Qualify For NCAAs
The best guys at each weight class who won’t be competing in Kansas City.
Mar 12, 2024 by JD Rader
While we still have to wait another day for brackets, the NCAA has released at-large bids, which means the entire field for Kansas City is set. You can find that HERE. Today · 11:00 AM CDT
2024 NCAA Championships Watch Party
Below is a list of the best guys who didn’t make the cut.
125
#24 Spencer Moore, UNC (15-5) #25 Colton Camacho, Pitt (11-12) #28 Trever Anderson, UNI (11-12) #30 Dominic Mendez, Cal Poly (15-12) Jack Maida, American (15-5) Anthony Molton, Campbell (21-5)
133
#22 Vincent Santaniello, Pittsburgh (15-4) #23 Anthony Madrigal, Illinois (7-5) … story and list at … Flowrestling.org/Best-wrestlers-who-didnt-qualify-for-ncaas
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WIN Magazine’s March 12 Tournament Power Index
NEWTON, Iowa — The NCAA is just a couple days away from announcing its full 330-wrestler field, brackets and seedings and there could be at least two new top-ranked wrestlers — Penn State’s Braeden Davis and Oklahoma State’s Daton Fix — according to WIN Magazine’s March 12 individual rankings and Tournament Power Index, presented by Cliff Keen Athletic, who could be in position to get the top seed at their respective weights. 
Davis, a true freshman, moved up nine spots from WIN’s previous rankings to take over the top spot at 125 pounds after the Nittany Lion won last week’s Big Ten Championships. Fix, a four-time All-American, meanwhile, is ranked No. 1 after the Cowboy captured his fifth Big 12 championship last weekend.
Meanwhile, two-time defending national champion Penn State continues to be the favorite to win the team title at the 2024 NCAA Division I Championships, March 21-23, in Kansas City. All 10 Nittany Lions are ranked in the Top 8 of their weight class, including six rated No. 1. In addition to Davis, Beau Bartlett (141), Levi Haines (157), Carter Starocci (174), Aaron Brooks (184) and Greg Kerkvliet (Hwt) are all ranked No. 1. The Nittany Lions have amassed 160.5 points in WIN’s Tournament Power Index, which predicts team standings at the NCAA Division I Championships, based on a point total associated with individual placement and advancement points that could be scored at the 2024 NCAAs, excluding bonus points. After Penn State, No. 2 Iowa (66.5), No. 3 Oklahoma State (63), No. 4 NC State (60) and No. 5 Iowa State (58.5) round out the top five.
It should be noted that WIN’s individual rankings are not simply an update of recent wins and losses, but more of a prediction at this point in the season of where wrestlers will finish at the NCAA Championships taking potential seeds into consideration. The following is a breakdown of those TPI points: 20 for 1st place, 16 for 2nd, 13.5 for 3rd, 12.5 for 4th, 10 for 5th, 9 for 6th, 6.5 for 7th and 5.5 for 8th. Wrestlers ranked 9-12 earn two points each, followed by one and a half points for wrestlers ranked 13-16 and one point for those ranked 17-20. … full list at … WIN-magazine.com/Pre-ncaa-rankings-released-by-win
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New Faces Highlight Thrilling Big Ten Tournament
Saying that the Big Ten Wrestling tournament was one of the most exciting events of the college wrestling season isn’t exactly saying much. You might as well tell some that the sky is blue. But this year’s tournament was different. Because not only was it thrilling, but it delivered several fresh faces that could be stars in the college wrestling world for years to come.
This year’s Big Ten finals featured 12 first-time finalists and an incredible eight first-time Big Ten champions.
Only Penn State’s Levi Haines and Aaron Brooks were repeat winners. None of the eight first-time winners are out of eligibility following the 2023-24 season, and only Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State has even discussed the idea of wrapping up his college career following the completion of the season. So, what did these first-time winners have to say? Well, gratitude was a common theme. But so was the idea that, for them, the Big Ten Tournament only marks the start of their quest to top the podium in March. “In a conference like this, there’s a hammer every weekend,” Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez said after his 4-1 win over Beau Bartlett of Penn State. “So you have to be ready. Knowing I could have a Real Woods or a Lemley or a Hardy that next weekend makes me work that much harder. “But, you know, none of this matters unless I get a national title. So the work doesn’t stop yet.”
That was a common refrain among the conference champions. Even those such as Rutgers’ Dylan Shawver, who most fans would not have predicted to come out of a stacked 133-pound weight class. “I manifest these things,” Shawver said of his big weekend. “When I say I manifest them, I think about it. I know it’s going to come true as long as I believe. And that’s me, I believe. Once you give up, you lose all hope. And that’s something I don’t have. I always give it all. And giving it all is what matters.” That confidence is something that Illinois’ Edmond Ruth said that he’s developed since joining the Fighting Illini after starting his career at Lehigh. Ruth’s path to a championship at 174 pounds was unconventional. Both top-seeded Carter Starocci of Penn State and No. 2 Shane Grifftih of Michigan defaulted out of the tournament, with the latter doing so in the final. But Ruth isn’t taking any less pride in his accomplishment. … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/New-faces-highlight-thrilling-big-ten-tournament
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Making Sense of the 2024 NCAA Brackets
Last night, brackets for the 2024 NCAA DI Championships were released. As the NCAA selection show progressed, or people found a way to fast forward ahead, social media and message boards quickly exploded with plenty of chatter regarding the brackets. 
Generally, I’ve thought that the brackets generated over the past couple of years have been decent. I understand that people are going to have gripes any way you try to sort out seeding 330 wrestlers in ten groups of 33. Usually, a lot of that negative feedback can be attributed to some sort of team or family association. It can be difficult to digest the cold-hard facts when your heart is involved.  Speaking from an outside observer, someone who doesn’t have an affiliation to one particular school or doesn’t have a child in the tournament, the 2024 brackets were….eh, not particularly good. 
Let’s talk about ‘em.
1. The system is formula-driven
There is an NCAA Championship Committee that meets to determine at-large berths and to compile the NCAA brackets; however, a large portion of their job is formula-driven. Wrestlers get a certain number based on the coaches rankings, … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/Making-sense-of-the-2024-ncaa-brackets
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How Many Points Will Each Conference Score At NCAAs?
How many points will the teams in each conference cumulatively score at 2024 NCAAs? What about in 2025? And how does that compare to the recent past? Mar 14, 2024 by Andrew Spey
We’ve already shown you how many points each college wrestling team will score at the 2024 NCAA Championships based on seeds (click here!), but what about the number of points each entire conference will score, also based on the seeds?
More NCAA content: Qualifiers by State | Qualifiers by School
Good question, read on and we’ll show you! Today · 11:00 AM CDT
2024 NCAA Championships Watch Party
2024
We used the projected finishes based on seeds and added up approximate advancement and placement points but did not factor in potential bonus points. That produced the following table for this year’s championship.

Conference	Points
Big Ten	401.5
Big 12	275.0

Five Thoughts on NCAA Wrestling Championships Brackets
Ten individual brackets, each with 33 wrestlers, is a lot to think about.
The NCAA revealed Wednesday night the brackets for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, which starts next Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri. All 10 Oklahoma State wrestlers qualified for the tournament, with 133-pounder Daton Fix being the Cowboys’ only top seed. You can see the full brackets here if you haven’t yet. Later in the week I’ll break down each bracket and every Cowboys’ path to a national title or All-American status, but first, here are five thoughts after my first glance of the brackets.
1. Daton Fix Was Gifted
No road to the NCAA finals is smooth, but Fix has a paved Oklahoma state highway to the 133-pound final in his fifth and final appearance in the tournament.
I tweeted (or X’d, I don’t know?) Wednesday night that my initial thought from the brackets was that Fix was finally gonna win a natty after coming up short in the finals three times. Immediate reactions are overreactions, but I don’t think my take is quite Stephen A.-esque. The committee gave Fix a parting gift after seven years of bad luck. Fix got the No. 1 seed for the third time in his career after going 17-0 this season. Despite his perfect record and becoming the first five-time conference champion in Big 12 and OSU history, Fix getting the top spot here is actually a bit of a surprise. … story at … Pistolsfiringblog.com/five-thoughts-on-ncaa-wrestling-championships-brackets
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Facts, Trends, and Numbers from the 2024 NCAA Championships
With the at-large’s announced on Tuesday and brackets released Wednesday, the NCAA Championships are officially looming. And now, less than a week away. Before we get into the meat and potatoes of our previews, here’s a fun look at the NCAA Tournament and its competitors (individuals/teams). It’s some of the facts, trends, numbers, and overall randomness that you never thought to look up about the participants of the 2024 NCAA Championships.
Conference-Related Notes
Since 2011, 13 different freshmen have captured Big Ten titles. Seven have wrestled for Penn State. They are David Taylor, Ed Ruth, Bo Nickal, Aaron Brooks, Levi Haines, and now Braeden Davis and Mitchell Mesenbrink.  The others are Silas Allred (‘23), … story at … Intermatwrestle.com/Facts-trends-and-numbers-from-the-2024-ncaa-championships

March 21, 2024 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized