Maryland breaks into Top 25; Illinois climbs to No. 11
Manheim, Pennsylvania – While one of the nation’s premier in-season individual tournaments took place in Las Vegas, there was plenty of dual meet action around the Division I mats as competition resumed after the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Maryland (4-0) entered the NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll for the first time this season as the new poll was released on Tuesday. Coach Alex Clemsen’s team was ranked for two weeks last season and climbed as high as No. 22 during the 2022-23 season.
Penn State (2-0) remained the unanimous No. 1 after blasting then-No. 22 Lehigh 36-3 at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The dual drew 9,769, the largest home crowd in the storied history of Lehigh wrestling. Iowa improved to 6-0 after taking out Army West Point and Princeton at Journeymen Wrestling’s Uncivil War in St. Charles, Missouri. The Hawkeyes pulled out a 23-16 win over the Black Knights and a 39-3 win over the Tigers.
The rest of the Top 10 was in Las Vegas, where third-ranked Oklahoma State won the team title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Illinois moved up two more spots to No. 11, after defeating Indiana 34-3 prior to the Big Ten’s conference championship football game in Indianapolis. Currently, seven of the nation’s top 11 teams reside in the Big Ten.
Rutgers picked up a pair of wins to improve to 5-2. The Scarlet Knights beat Lock Haven 34-6 and in-state rival Princeton 32-7. No. 20 Little Rock and No. 21 Oklahoma both beat Central Michigan over the weekend. Little Rock (4-0) won 27-15, while Oklahoma (3-0) won 28-6.
Methodology: The NWCA Division I Wrestling Coaches Poll is voted on by two coaches from each Division I wrestling conference. Each first-place vote is worth 25 points, 24 points for a second-place vote, 23 points for a third-place vote, and so on, through to one point for a 25th-place vote. The poll is based on dual meet results.
NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll December 10, 2024 details at https://nwcaonline.com/
| Rank | Team (First) | Record | Points | Conf. | Previous |
| 1 | Penn State (16) | (2-0) | 400 | Big Ten | 1 |
| 2 | Iowa | (6-0) | 380 | Big Ten | 2 |
| 3 | Oklahoma State | (4-0) | 368 | Big 12 | 3 |
| 4 | Nebraska | (3-0) | 352 | Big Ten | 4 |
| 5 | Ohio State | (3-0) | 329 | Big Ten | 5 |
| 6 | NC State | (5-0) | 315 | ACC | 6 |
Oklahoma State dominates team race at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Hendrickson named Outstanding Wrestler
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The third-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys, led by two individual champions and eight place winners, improved on a strong day one lead to win the team title at the 2024 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
In the team race, Oklahoma State was leading by 21.5 points entering day two. The Cowboys put up a dominant 192 points in Las Vegas, 77 points ahead of second-place finisher Nebraska. The Huskers scored 115 team points, edging out third-place Ohio State who tallied 110.5 points. Virginia Tech secured 90 team points, and 2023 team champion Iowa State rounds out the top five with 89.5 team points.
In his first season at the helm for the Cowboys, 2020 Olympic champion David Taylor has coached his team to a dominant performance at one of the biggest midseason tournaments in collegiate wrestling. Oklahoma State had all ten in its line-up reach the podium in Las Vegas, and five wrestlers reached the finals after the third session.
The two champions for Oklahoma State were Dean Hamiti Jr. at 174 pounds and Wyatt Hendrickson at 285 pounds. Hamiti edged Lorenzo Norman (Stanford) in a 4-3 match that came down to a riding time point after Norman took the lead with a first-period takedown. Hamiti scored two on a reversal in the first, then evened the score at 3 with an escape in the second period. Hendrickson capped off the night with a pin against Isaac Trumble (NC State) at 2:35 in a battle of U23 World Champions. He was also named the Outstanding Wrestler for his performance this weekend.
At 125 pounds, Matt Ramos (Purdue) displayed dominance early, securing a 6-2 lead over Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) in the first period with a pair of takedown-escape sequences. Despite Ventresca earning a point from a stalling call in the third period in an effort to narrow the gap, Ramos held on for the victory.
In the 133-pound final, Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) showed precision, using an early escape and a second-period takedown to secure a 7-3 win over Evan Frost (Iowa State). Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) edged out Tagen Jamison … more at … https://www.themat.com/news/2024/december/07/oklahoma-state-dominates-team-race-at-cliff-keen-las-vegas-invitational-hendrickson-named-outstanding-wrestler
Cowboy Wrestling Wins CKLV Invitational, Two Individual Titles
LAS VEGAS – The No. 3 Oklahoma State wrestling team won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Saturday evening, claiming two individual titles from heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson and 174-pounder Dean Hamiti Jr.
The Cowboys routed the field, earning 192 team points and coming up just short of the record 198.25 points set by Oklahoma State in 1983. They outscored second-place Nebraska by 77 points and combined for a 48-10 record with beating 31 ranked wrestlers and 18 conference opponents. An impressive 25 bonus-point wins also helped bolster OSU’s historical point total.
It was a strong performance by the entire lineup, as all 10 Cowboys placed no lower than fifth, becoming the first team to do so since 1999 and just the fourth ever. OSU is responsible for all four of those performances, and no other collegiate wrestling program has accomplished that feat.
Wyatt Hendrickson continued his stellar start to his Cowboy career by claiming the heavyweight title. Hendrickson received the top seed at his weight and used that to rattle off five straight victories, three coming against ranked wrestlers and the final two over opponents in the top eight. His efforts earned the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler award.
Hendrickson started off the day with an injury default win over the eighth-ranked Nick Feldman from Ohio State to put him in the championship bout. There, Hendrickson put on a show by defeating No. 6 Isaac Trumble (NC State) with a pin in just 2:35. Over his five matches, he had three pins and none of his five bouts went the distance.
Dean Hamiti Jr. had a similar weekend at 174 pounds. Starting in the semifinals, Hamiti cruised past Cornell’s No. 13 Simon Ruiz, 14-1, to set up a championship bout between the fifth-ranked Cowboy and Stanford’s Lorenzo Norman, ranked No. 8 in the country. Tied 3-3 heading into the third period, Hamiti began in the top position and stayed there for the final two minutes to earn a crucial riding time point that clinched the championship. … more at … https://okstate.com/news/2024/12/7/cowboy-wrestling-wins-cliff-keen-invitational-along-with-two-individual-champions
Huskers Finish Second at Cliff Keen
The Nebraska wrestling team claimed second at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, which concluded with final bouts on Saturday. The Big Red finished with 115 points, among the 30 programs competing at the tournament. Antrell Taylor (157) claimed his first Cliff Keen title, after winning his top-10 matchup in the final.
Finals:
No. 5 Ridge Lovett went 4-0 to start the tournament, as the reigning champ in the 149 weight class. Lovett tallied two ranked wins and two bonus point wins on his way to the championship match, where he faced No. 1 Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech. The familiar foes were tied at three-all, taking the bout to overtime, where Henson claimed the title with a takedown.
No. 3 Taylor went 5-0, claiming the 157 championship. Taylor took down four ranked opponents, and had a major dec. and pin along the way. Taylor faced No. 6 Ryder Downey of Northern Iowa in the final, where he persevered to a 4-3 victory. Taylor’s Vegas run improved his season record to 12-0.
Third-place Matches:
No. 2 Caleb Smith (125) took his first three matches and suffered his first loss against No. 11 Eddie Ventresca in overtime in the semifinal. Smith took his next match to stay alive, putting him in the consolation semifinals against No. 10 Brendan McCrone. Smith won in overtime, 6-3, but fell in the third-place match to No. 4 Troy Spratley.
No. 4 Brock Hardy (141) opened the tournament with two major decisions. Hardy dropped his semifinal match against No. 10 Tagen Jamison, but bounced back in his final two matches to take third place. The junior sealed his podium finish with a 40-second fall, and improved on his previous sixth-place finish. Hardy’s 4-1 stretch also notched his 70th career win.
No. 20 Bubba Wilson (165) claimed two upsets in his 4-2 run to fourth place. Wilson opened with three wins, including a 6-4 decision over No. 7 Sammy Sasso. The senior fell in overtime in his semifinal match, but took down No. 25 Drake Rhodes (South Dakota State) for a spot in the third-place match. … more at … https://huskers.com/news/2024/12/8/huskers-finish-second-at-cliff-keen-24
Lopers Takedown Newly Named Tech Tigers
Kearney, Neb. – The fifth-ranked Nebraska Kearney wrestling team used two falls and two tech falls to get past Fort Hays State Northwest Tech, 34-13, Friday night at Kearney High School.
This “Wrestling Night in Kearney” event, held several times over the years, features the Lopers wrestling alongside boys and now girls varsity teams from Kearney High.
The Tigers, formerly known as the Northwest Kansas Tech Mavericks, are the second-ranked team in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Their lineup includes the top-ranked individuals at both 174 and 184 pounds with the pair hailing from Mongolia and Cuba, respectively.
At 133 pounds, Kansas redshirt junior Hector Serratos rolled third-ranked John Kenney by a 17-1 count thanks to three takedowns and a total of seven near fall points. Two classes higher, Colorado redshirt junior Beau Hostler tallied four points in the second period to win by one with 14th-ranked Trenton Munoz (Santa Clarita, Calif.) up 16-2 in his 165-pound match before recording a fall at 4:47. Next at 197 and 285 pounds, third-ranked Jackson Kinsella (Creston, Ia.) pinned his Tiger at 6:37 with top-ranked Crew Howard (Clarinda, Ia.) having a 20-5 tech fall in an even 5:00. His night included four takedowns and six near fall points. Finally, the Lopers had three falls in four exhibition matches.
UNK heads to Hays, Kan., Sunday for the annual Bob Smith Open. … more at … https://lopers.com/news/2024/12/6/wrestling-lopers-takedown-newly-named-tech-tigers.aspx
Back-to-Back Pins Resurrect No. 13 Corban Men’s Wrestling as Warriors Swipe Dual Win from NCAA Cal Poly Humboldt
SALEM, Ore. – For all but about five minutes of tonight’s dual for the No. 13-ranked Corban University Men’s Wrestling team, the Warriors trailed their NCAA DII Cal Poly Humboldt counterparts on the scoreboard, as the early weight classes struggled to get going yet the fear of their first dual loss of the season was erased in a matter of minutes thanks to the work of five student-athletes who won their weight classes and eventually, secured them their 26-23 dual victory over the Lumberjacks.
To view the complete results from today’s dual, click HERE or see below for a weight class summary. “A little bit of a slow start tonight but it was a fast finish,” explained Warriors’ head coach Nolan Harris. “It was definitely exciting for our fanbase for it to end as it did. After 165lbs, we knew we needed to win out with bonus points in multiple matches. Our guys knew the goal and rose to the occasion. Tyson got it started by putting up a lot of points en route to a tech fall and really got the enthusiasm back on our side. Hunter showed great composure with a big fall after giving up an initial takedown. It set up the great finish by Toni and sealing the dual win with the quick fall. Again, we knew we needed bonus points for the team to win, as if Toni were to win by decision, we would’ve ended up tied and Cal Poly Humboldt had the criteria necessary to win the tiebreak. Ultimately, Toni’s fall sealed the victory. I’m proud of the team effort tonight and look forward to our guys getting through finals this next week and our upcoming match against a tough Southern Oregon squad on Saturday.
The Warriors (4-0) proved tonight that it’s not necessarily always how you start a dual that determines the result, but often how you finish them that produce meaningful victories and help set the standard for the rest of the 2024-25 season. After dropping their first four weight classes to the Jacks (0-3) via a technical fall, back-to-back fortfeits, and a decision to trail 20-0 on the scoreboard, redshirt senior David Rubio was able to kick off the team scoring for Corban men’s wrestling with a hard fought 6-4 decision over Cal Poly Humboldt’s Gil Mossburg that sparked the remainder of the Warriors waiting to face their dual opponents.
The Lumberjacks earned those three points right back at 165lbs as Cole Zoller took a 9-3 decision over sophomore Jesse Rubio, … more at … https://corbanwarriors.com/news/2024/12/8/back-to-back-pins-resurrect-no-13-corban-mens-wrestling-as-warriors-swipe-dual-win-from-ncaa-cal-poly-humboldt.aspx
Bianchi’s Upset Victory Powers Little Rock to Fourth Straight Win
Trojans finish 6-4 on the day to stay unbeaten in duals
In a thrilling dual featuring as many overtime matches as those decided in regulation, Little Rock Wrestling clinched its fourth consecutive victory, remaining undefeated in dual competition with a 6-4 performance on the day.
“There were a lot of ups and downs, a lot of emotional moments, a lot of really awesome moments. The team we wrestled is gritty and tough and they make your life tough, but we found a way to score a lot of points and get after them a certain matches. It’s definitely something we’re encouraged about, but there’s always room to be better.” Coach Erisman on the win over Central Michigan
How It Happened
The action began at 125, where Tyson Roach made his dual debut against (R) Freshman Kaden Chinavare. After a scoreless first period, Chinavare pulled ahead in the second with an escape and takedown, ultimately holding off Roach’s late comeback attempt for a 9-6 win.
Trailing 0-3, Nasir Bailey wasted no time getting Little Rock on the board at 133. The standout sophomore pinned Sean Spidle in just 1:24, giving the Trojans a 6-3 lead.
At 141, Cole Minnick faced Kellan Aure in a cautious match that ended in Aure’s favor with a second-period pin, putting Central Michigan ahead 9-6.
Brennan Van Hoecke evened the score at 149, defeating Colin Kacena 11-5 in a high-paced final period.
The turning point came at 157, where Matty Bianchi faced Johnny Lovett in the first of three overtime matches. After a tense regulation, Bianchi secured a sudden-victory takedown to win 3-1, giving the Trojans a 12-9 lead heading into intermission. … more at … https://lrtrojans.com/news/2024/12/8/wrestling-bianchis-upset-victory-powers-little-rock-to-fourth-straight-win.aspx
Penn State Takes Down Lehigh 36-3 in Sold Out PPL Center
Nittany Lions win nine of ten, post 21-1 takedown edge, in front of nearly 10,000 fans.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (2-0, 0-0 B1G) took down Lehigh (1-2) in a Pennsylvania intra-state dual meet on Sunday in Allentown, Pa. Penn State won nine of ten bouts in a lopsided 36-3 victory.
The dual was wrestled in Allentown’s PPL Center in front of a sold-out crowd of 9,769. All rankings listed are InterMat/InterMat Tournament Power Index (TPI).
The dual began at 125. Penn State true freshman Luke Lilledahl, ranked No. 16 at 125, opened up the dual with a 4-1 win over No. 15 Sheldon Seymour, notching a late counter takedown for the victory. Sophomore Braeden Davis, ranked No. 10 at 133, battled No. 1 Ryan Crookham tough, forcing two late stalls but dropping a tough 4-2 decision.
Senior+ Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 3 at 141, gave Penn State a 6-3 lead in the dual meet with a 5-0 win over Mountain Hawk Carter Bailey, using a first period takedown, an escape and riding time to grab the victory. Sophomore Shayne Van Ness, ranked No. 2 at 149, followed that up with a strong 17-3 major decision over Matt Repos, working up five takedowns in the win. Sophomore Tyler Kasak, ranked No. 4 at 157, used a second period takedown as the edge in a hard fought 5-2 win over Logan Rozynski to close out the first half for Penn State. The Nittany Lions led 13-3 at the midway point.
Sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink, ranked No. 1 at 165, opened up the second half … more at … https://gopsusports.com/news/2024/12/8/penn-state-takes-down-lehigh-36-3-in-sold-out-ppl-center
Eight Title Winners Nets Gophers Team Crown at Cougar Clash
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota wrestling claimed eight of the 10 titles en route to winning the team title Saturday at the Cougar Clash in Edwardsville, Ill.
The titles came from redshirt juniors Cooper Flynn (125 pounds), Vance VomBaur (141) and Drew Roberts (149), fifth-year seniors Tommy Askey (157) and Andrew Sparks (165), redshirt sophomore Clayton Whiting (174), and redshirt freshmen Max McEnelly (184) and Gavin Nelson (197).
In addition, the Golden Gophers had finalists at 133 pounds (sophomore Tyler Wells), 174 pounds (redshirt freshman Ethan Riddle) and heavyweight (redshirt junior Bennett Tabor). Minnesota’s 268.5 team points were well ahead of second-place Missouri’s 183.0, while Northern Colorado was third at 157.0. No other team had more than 90 points.
Flynn, ranked 13th by Intermat, was 3-0 on the day en route to his first tournament title as a Gopher. After a first-round bye, he pinned Illinois’ Anthony Ruzic at 4:57, then topped No. 14 Noah Surtin of Missouri, 8-2. In the finals, Flynn picked up his second rank win as he took down No. 5 Stevo Poulin of Northern Colorado, 7-1. Down 1-0 after 2 periods, Flynn tied it with an escape then took down Poulin and added three nearfall points to claim the title.
The fifth-ranked VomBaur cruised through his first two matches, pinning Missouri’s Owen Uhls at 5:55 then getting a 17-4 major decision against another Tiger in Easton Hilton. The finals featured a rematch from last year’s NCAA Championship Blood Round between VomBaur and Missouri’s Josh Edmond, currently ranked 18th. After an 8-5 overtime win last year, VomBaur did it again in a 4-3 win Saturday to take the 141-pound title. An escape and takedown in the first period was enough for VomBaur to prevail.
Roberts finished a 4-0 day with a 12-1 major decision over Northern Colorado’s Benji Alanis to win the crown at 149 pounds. Roberts outscored opponents 49-9 Saturday in his first tournament appearance of the season. Askey, ranked No. 7, took the title at 157 pounds with a 13-4 major decision over James Conway of Missouri. Askey had two first-period takedowns and added another in the second to put the match away. Going 4-0 on the day, he alternated a decision with a major decision on his way to improving his record to 10-0 on the year.
A dominant day for No. 11 Andrew Sparks ended in a 5-0 title win … more at … https://gophersports.com/news/2024/12/7/wrestling-eight-title-winners-nets-gophers-team-crown-at-cougar-clash
Brands Notches Win 300 As Hawkeyes Down Princeton and Army
ST. CHARLES, Missouri – The University of Iowa wrestling team won a pair of duals on Friday night at Francis Howell High School at the Journeymen ‘Unvicil War’. The Hawkeyes defeated Princeton, 39-3, before defeating Army, 23-16, in the nightcap. The second win was head coach Tom Brand’s 300th career dual victory. “We have a lot of work to do,” said Brands. “This team has a lot of work to do. It’s a characteristic of a good coach to be looking ahead not behind.”
The Hawkeyes won 15 of the 20 bouts in the two duals and secured bonus points in 11 matches. In the opening dual of the night the Hawkeyes won nine bouts over Princeton. Including six straight via bonus points. Iowa started the run of technical fall victories with Kyle Parco at 149 as he defeated Christopher Martino, 17-2. Miguel Estrada made his dual debut defeating Cody Tavoso, 21-6, at 157. At 165, Michael Caliendo won 19-3 over Hudson Hightower and Nelson Brands won 20-4 over Xavier Giles at 174. Stephen Buchanan also tallied a technical fall at 197 over No. 18 Luke Stout, 18-3. Iowa got major decisions from Drake Ayala over Daniel Jones, 13-2, … more at … https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2024/12/06/brands-notches-win-300-hawkeyes-down-princeton-and-army/
TDR blog
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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