NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 7 Roundup: Do Duals Matter?
The world’s finest collection of noteworthy happenings from the 7th week of the 2024-25 NCAA D1 wrestling season.
We’ve completed another week of rad wrestling from the 2024-25 NCAA D1 season, and we’re here to recap it for you!
Box Scores | Rankings | Last Week’s Roundup
It was a fairly light week of competition as many teams were recovering from the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (which ruled). With limited results to examine, I figure now’s as good a time as any for a brief digression, in which I will answer the question: “Do dual meets matter?”
Regular readers of this blog will know I absolutely believe duals matter. Dual meets are, in my humble opinion, the lifeblood of the sport. They are the engine that powers the collegiate season. Without duals, there would be no season, no season, no fans, etc.
Duals also matter to the sport’s stakeholders. Wrestling is an individual sport, but it takes more than competitors and coaches for the sport to thrive. To maintain the level of funding that many D1 programs enjoy you need buy-in from school administrators, alumni, donors and the community at-large. You need to demonstrate to these stakeholders that your program has value. And the best way to generate enthusiasm from stakeholders is with raucous college rivalries, which are best expressed in head-to-head team competitions.
When people say “duals matter”, this is what they mean.
However, in another more specific way, duals, in fact, do not matter.
And that take is not driven by opinions, but rooted in the rule book. The NCAA team … more at … https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/13255794-ncaa-d1-wrestling-week-7-roundup-do-duals-matter
Citadel Ousts Limestone in 2024 Finale, Cruises Past Saints 56-0
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Bolstered by a trio of pins from Malik Hardy, Micah DiCarlo and Adam Ortega, The Citadel (3-1, 0-0 SoCon) closed out the 2024 portion of the campaign against visiting non-conference foe Limestone (1-3, 0-0 CC) on a serious high note, powering past the Saints behind a perfect 56-0 margin Thursday afternoon at McAlister Field House.
FINAL RESULTS
The Citadel def. Limestone, 56-0
Thursday, Dec. 19 | McAlister Field House | Charleston, S.C.
125 —Malik Hardy (CIT) over Jeremiah Ellis (LMS), FALL (1:42)
133 —George Rosas (CIT) over (LMS), FOR
141 —Thomas Termini (CIT) over (LMS), FOR
149 —Carson DesRosier (CIT) over (LMS), FOR
157 —Tyler Badgett (CIT) over Malachi Thomas (LMS), TF (17-2, 2:03)
165 —Thomas Snipes (CIT) over Samuel Daniels (LMS), TF (17-0, 2:23)
174 —Ben Haubert (CIT) over Christopher Drakeford (LMS), TF (19-4, 6:01) … more at … https://citadelsports.com/news/2024/12/19/wrestling-ousts-limestone-in-2024-finale-cruises-past-saints-xx-xx.aspx
David Taylor is positioned to dominate college wrestling’s future
David Taylor completed his first semester as the Oklahoma State wrestling coach, and his grades are posted. He earned straight A’s with a team title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, the second-ranked recruiting class and an undefeated dual record – topped with a 34-9 win over No. 7 Virginia Tech Thursday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. The possibilities for the next decade of his career are as enticing for OSU as they are concerning for the rest of the country.
Seven months before his 34th birthday, Taylor was given the enviable position to coach the winningest program in NCAA history and the unenviable task to follow John Smith.
Sources have told the News Press that Smith fully intended and expected his replacement to be chosen from within, and Smith said he coached a few extra years to set the program up for success. Instead, Taylor was hired and had to earn the team and the fanbase’s confidence as a coach.
He has swiftly done that in the best way possible: by being himself. And the team has taken on the aggressive identity of its coach. “We’re just looking to score the whole time up and down the lineup,” Luke Surber said. “Coach Smith wanted to score, too. But what we’re doing is a little bit different.”
Last season, the Cowboys scored more than 31 team points in one dual. This season, they have yet to score fewer than 32 team points. Smith deserves a lot of credit for the team’s strong finish in the spring leading to its strong start in the fall. “Our guys that have been there and had success at the national tournament – their aura, their demeanor, their work ethic – is super valuable for some of the younger guys on our team,” Taylor said.
But Taylor’s coaching has clearly unlocked something extra in wrestlers such as Troy Spratley, Tagen Jamison, Luke Surber and transfers Dean Hamiti and Wyatt Hendrickson. Especially after Hamiti destroyed No. 4 Lennox Wolak, it would not be surprising to see him win the national title, and that was unexpected when he committed to OSU. … more at … https://www.stwnewspress.com/sports/in-the-loop-david-taylor-is-positioned-to-dominate-college-wrestlings-future/article_fb2ccacc-bea9-11ef-8be9-03c589b71f4b.html
No. 13 Cyclones Go 2-1 at Collegiate Duals
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – No. 13 Iowa State (4-3, 1-0 Big 12) went 2-1 Saturday at the Collegiate duals in Nashville, Tenn. The Cyclones defeated Lock Haven (2-4, 1-0 MAC) and No. 25 North Carolina (4-4, 0-0 ACC) before falling to No. 5 Ohio State (7-0, 0-0 Big Ten) in the final dual of the day.
The Cyclones notched victories over the Bald Eagles, 30-6, and Tar Heels, 23-14, but dropped the finale to the Buckeyes, 29-10.
Kysen Terukina went 2-0 at 125 pounds in his first action of the season while Paniro Johnson and Evan Bockman went 2-0 at 165 and 184 pounds, respectively. Cody Chittum went 3-0 on the day at 157 pounds with an upset over Ohio State’s No. 7 Paddy Gallagher.
Osmany Diversent earned the first top-15 win of his career with a win over Lock Haven’s two-time All-American No. 13 Anthony Noto.
Individual dual recaps from the day can be found below.
Iowa State is back in dual action after the New Year at West Virginia on Jan. 8.
No. 13 Iowa State 30, Lock Haven 6
No. 13 Iowa State took eight of 10 bouts, including four with bonus points, in the first dual of the day against Lock Haven. Kysen Terukina, Jacob Frost, Cody Chittum and Manny Rojas tallied extra points in ISU’s 30-6 victory over the Bald Eagles.
In his first match of the season, Terukina earned a 20-5 tech fall over Lucas Fye at 125 pounds. The Hawaiian tallied five takedowns in the win.
Osmany Diversent notched the first top-15 victory of his young career with a commanding 9-3 victory over two-time All-American No. 13 Anthony Noto. Diversent had a takedown in all three periods.
Frost continued his strong start to the season with a 20-4 tech fall over No. 21 Wyatt Henson at 141 pounds. Frost gave up the first takedown but settled in and turned Henson twice to break the match open. Lock Haven got on the board at 149 pounds when Carter Fousek fell to No. 31 Lucas Kapusta, 9-6. Fousek reversed Kapusta to his back at the end of the second period but time ran out before the Cyclone could accumulate near fall points.
At 157 pounds, Chittum earned bonus points with a 13-4 major decision over Nick Stampoulos, putting Iowa State ahead of Lock Haven, 17-3, at the halfway point. Rojas earned the first dual victory of his career with a 12-3 major decision over Caden Dobbins at 165 pounds. … more at … https://cyclones.com/news/2024/12/21/wrestling-no-13-cyclones-go-2-1-at-collegiate-duals.aspx
Utah Valley tops No. 23 Oregon State, 20-14
OREM, Utah – Utah Valley wrestling defeated No. 23 Oregon State, 20-14, on Friday night inside Lockhart Arena. The Wolverines (4-4) won six of the ten bouts, including major decisions by No. 18 Haiden Drury and Smokey McClure in his UVU debut.
“We embodied grit tonight to take down a top 25, nationally ranked team! It was definitely not the prettiest dual. Both teams had guys out, made mistakes, and had hard-fought wins, but we came out on top. I’m excited for our guys to get some well-deserved rest after this weekend and to get ready for some important matchups in January. Go Wolverines!”
Oregon State got out to a 3-0 lead in the team scores when former Wolverine Kekana Fouret picked up an 11-5 decision over Kaden Bennie in his UVU Debut. Bennie trailed going into the third period but scored on a key takedown and added an escape to make it 10-5 before Fouret held on for the win.
The Wolverines won the next three bouts first with 174-pounder Mark Takara upsetting No. 32 Sean Harman. Takara scored five points in the final minute of the opening period on a takedown and a two-point near fall. He would not score again until an escape to open the third period and hold on for the upset. It is the first-ranked win for the redshirt sophomore from Temecula, Calif.
Caleb Uhlenhopp kept the momentum going in UVU’s favor, going up 3-0 in the first period against TJ McDonnell at 184. The lead was pushed out to 6-0 in the second. McDonnell fought back and cut the lead to 6-3 after a takedown, but it was too late to come back.
Kael Bennie gave the Wolverines a 9-3 lead with a 14-7 decision over Riverton native and Bingham alum Mason Christiansen. The high scoring affair favored Bennie, 5-4, before he extended the lead out to 10-7 after two. In the final period, he sealed the match for his seventh win of the season with a takedown.
Leading 9-3, the Beavers found some life with their ranked wrestlers at heavyweight, … more at … https://gouvu.com/news/2024/12/20/wrestling-utah-valley-tops-no-23-oregon-state-20-14.aspx
No. 6 Ohio State Earns Three Wins at 2024 Collegiate Duals
COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 6 Ohio State (7-0) picked up three wins Saturday at the 2024 Collegiate Duals held at the Ensworth Frist Campus in Nashville.
In the first dual of the day, Ohio State defeated No. 21 North Carolina, 23-11. Graduate Carson Kharchla made his season debut and prevailed in his match at 174 over Joshua Ogunsanya (UNC), 10-3.
The Buckeyes opened the battle against the Tar Heels with a couple upset wins by redshirt freshman Vinny Kilkeary at 125 and by true freshman Ben Davino at 133. Kilkeary defeated No. 23 Spencer Moore in sudden victory (6-3) before Davino shut out No. 12 Ethan Oakley, 5-0.
Ohio State cruised to a 36-6 win in the middle dual against Lock Haven with six bonus-point victories.
The Buckeyes closed out the day with a 29-10 victory over No. 14 Iowa State to improve to 7-0 and finished 2024 undefeated in dual competition.
How it Happened
Ohio State vs. North Carolina
125-Vinny Kilkeary (OSU) def. No. 23 Spencer Moore (UNC) | D, 6-3 SV-1
Kilkeary took a 3-1 lead into the second period with a takedown and a Moore escape. Moore added another escape in the second and trailed 3-2 going into the final two minutes. The match went into sudden victory … more at … https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/news/2024/12/21/wrestling-no-6-ohio-state-earns-three-wins-at-2024-college-duals
NDSU Wrestling Tops Campbell at Knockout Christmas Classic
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – North Dakota State wrestling picked up its first win of the season with a 22-16 win over Campbell University on Saturday at the Knockout Christmas Classic held at Silver Spurs Arena. The Bison also fell on a tiebreaker to No. 22 West Virginia, 22-21, and lost to Wisconsin 22-13.
In the opening dual against West Virginia, the Bison picked up five victories, including a tech fall from Kyle Burwick early on. The teams traded the lead early before West Virginia went up by 9 with three straight wins. However, Tayshaun Glover and Drew Blackburn-Forst answered back with wins. Glover won by a decision and then Blackburn-Forst upset No. 29 Michael Wolfgram with a pin to tie the dual at 21-21. The Mountaineers would claim the dual win with a 49-43 difference in match points.
The Bison responded with a strong start against Campbell. In his first career dual, freshman Ezekiel Witt pinned No. 28 Anthony Molton for the Camels to give the Bison an early lead. Burwick followed it up with a win in sudden victory, taking down No. 25 Dom Zaccone.
Following a couple wins from Campbell, Gabriel Schumm, Boeden Greenley, Devin Wasley and Aidan Brenot reeled off four-straight decisions to secure the dual win for the Bison. Greenley secured a 7-1 win over No. 24 Domonic Baker for NDSU’s third upset win over a ranked opponent in the dual.
Wisconsin would jump out to an early lead against the Bison in the final dual, going up 7-0. However, Michael Olson picked up his first dual win, followed by a major decision from No. 29 Gavin Drexler to tie the dual at 7-7. … more at … https://gobison.com/news/2024/12/21/ndsu-wrestling-tops-campbell-at-knockout-christmas-classic.aspx
West Virginia Earns Three Wins at Knockout Christmas Classic
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University wrestling team put on a dominant performance at the Knockout Christmas Classic, defeating three teams on Saturday at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida.
The Mountaineers (6-1, 1-1 Big 12) began the day in a tight battle with the North Dakota State Bison.
Redshirt junior Jace Schafer earned a win by decision against North Dakota State’s Tristan Daughtery in the 125 pound match to get the day started. West Virginia quickly lost momentum as the Bison secured wins to lead, 12-7, early on.
However, fifth-year No. 3 Peyton Hall earned his fifteenth win of the season with a 17-2 technical fall over Boeden Greenley. That was followed by wins from redshirt sophomore No. 29 Brody Conley (174) and redshirt senior No. 26 Dennis Robin (184) to put WVU up, 21-12.
The Bison tied it up at 21 after redshirt senior No. 31 Austin Cooley (197) and fifth-year Michael Wolfgram lost (285). West Virginia earned the win, 22-21, based on a 49-43 difference in match points.
The Mountaineers quickly gained momentum in their match against the Wisconsin … more at … https://wvusports.com/news/2024/12/21/wrestling-west-virginia-earns-three-wins-at-knockout-christmas-classic.aspx
Sooners Score Three Wins at Norman Duals
NORMAN — The No. 21 Oklahoma wrestling team earned an unblemished 3-0 record after defeating Southeast CC, Cal State Bakersfield and Chattanooga in dual action on Saturday. As a team, the Sooners outscored opponents 105-21 on the day.
OU’s first dual was against Southeast CC. A historical milestone for the squad from Lincoln, Neb., Saturday marked the Bobcats’ first dual against a Division I opponent since the inception of the program in 2023. The Sooners had seven wrestlers make their season dual debuts: Beric Jordan, Carter Schmidt, Alex Braun, Hunter Hollingsworth, Anders Thompson, Seth Seago and Ryder Wiese all picked up wins. Elsewhere, KJ Evans, Tate Picklo and Mannix Morgan took care of business as the Sooners routed the Bobcats, 41-0. It marked the first time Oklahoma won all 10 matches in a dual since blanking Little Rock, 37-0, on Nov. 18, 2022.
The Sooners went up against CSU Bakersfield in their second dual of the day. Mosha Schwartz, Willie McDougald, KJ Evans, Mannix Morgan and DJ Parker led the way for Oklahoma as all earned bonus-point wins. Antonio Lorenzo and Picklo added decision victories, while the Roadrunners forfeited the 133-pound bout. The Sooners took eight of the 10 matches to take the 38-7 win.
OU finished out the quad with a dual against Chattanooga. Bradley Hill scored his first dual win since the season opener, racking up three takedowns, an escape and riding time against UTC’s David Harper for an 11-2 major decision. Picklo scored his third win of the day by fall, pinning the Mocs’ Jackson Hurst just one minute into the first period. Lorenzo, Schwartz and Parker contributed with bonus points, capping off a 26-14 win for the Sooners.
OU will enjoy a holiday break before traveling to Chattanooga, Tenn., to participate in the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 4-5, in what is widely considered one of the toughest regular season tournaments in collegiate wrestling. It will mark the second consecutive season Oklahoma will start the year at the event, and the Sooners will look to improve on … more at … https://soonersports.com/news/2024/12/21/wrestling-sooners-score-three-wins-at-norman-duals
Roanoke Wrestling wins all three at Gator ‘Boots’ Duals
The Facts:
Scores: No. 8 Roanoke 38, Mount Union 9, No. 8 Roanoke 22, No. 14 Loras 17, No. 8 Roanoke 51, Muskingum 3
Location: Hendersonville, Tenn., Hendersonville High School
The Short Story: The Roanoke College wrestling team earned three victories Saturday at the Gator ‘Boots’ Duals, hosted at Hendersonville High School (Tenn.). The Maroons, ranked No. 8 this week in dual match rankings by TheOpenMat.com, breezed to two non-conference victories and won a tight 22-17 decision over No. 14 Loras College (Iowa).
How it happened:
*Mark Samuel rolled to three wins at 141, with two pins and a technical fall.
*Isaic Paulino was 3-0 on the day at 125 with a major decision win.
*Vincenzo Corvetto won all three of his matches at 184, including one pin.
*Jonah Paulino was 2-0 at 133 with two technical falls.
Next Time:
Roanoke will compete at the Jim Crytzer Memorial at Washington & Lee University on Saturday, Jan. 4.
Men’s Gator ‘Boots’ Duals
Hendersonville High School
Hendersonville, Tenn.
Dec. 21, 2024
Final Results: Roanoke 38, Mount Union 9
125 – Isaic Paulino (Roanoke College) over Mason Taylor (Mount Union) Maj 15-4
133 – Jonah Paulino (Roanoke College) over Nolan Frye (Mount Union) TF 17-2
141 – Mark Samuel (Roanoke College) over Mason McCarty (Mount Union) TF 17-2 … More at … https://roanokemaroons.com/news/2024/12/21/roanoke-wrestling-wins-all-three-at-gator-boots-duals.aspx
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After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
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