The first two weeks of the college wrestling season were defined by upsets and crazy results, and while Week 3 definitely brought its fair share of notable individual match scores, team dominance and success emerged as the bigger storyline here in mid-November.
CATCH UP ON WRESTLING NEWS: Week 1 Recap | Week 2 Recap
Here’s what you need to know about the biggest dual scores from last weekend and how they might impact some of the notable upcoming matches.
No. 10 Iowa State blanks No. 18 Wisconsin
The Cyclones left no doubt about their talent in their dominant win over Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon in Humboldt, Iowa, former home of head coach Kevin Dresser. From start to finish, this dual belonged to the Cardinal and Gold. Iowa State’s 42-0 win not only made a statement and suggested that most of team’s starters will likely rise in the rankings, but it also showed the wrestling world that, one week before the iconic Cy-Hawk dual against Iowa, the Cyclones are ready.
Iowa State’s biggest star, 2021 NCAA champion David Carr, led his team with a solid 2-0 rideout win against 2023 Big Ten champion Dean Hamiti in the headliner match, but his performance, despite the win over the highest-ranked opponent in the dual, wasn’t enough to earn him outstanding wrestler of the dual honors. That title belonged to the lightweight No. 17 Kysen Terukina who took down Wisconsin’s No. 5 Eric Barnett by major 14-3 to kick off the momentum for the Cyclones. Terukina, a two-time national qualifier, was injured last year, but he’s back and ready to make a run for the podium in one of the most interesting weights in the country.
Terukina gets the first takedown of the match against No. 5 Barnett!
— Iowa State Wrestling (@CycloneWR) November 19, 2023
💻 @UFCFightPass pic.twitter.com/yy70xBBONa
Following Terukina, Iowa State rolled out a lineup of young stars and new faces, as redshirt freshman Evan Frost, transfer sophomore Anthony Echemendia, sophomore Casey Swiderski, redshirt freshman Cody Chittum and redshirt freshman MJ Gaitan all notched wins, with Echemendia, Chittum and Gaitan scoring bonus points in the process. Transfer Will Feldkamp officially sealed the dual for the Cyclones score-wise when he pinned Shane Liegel, though Julien Broderson and Yonger Bastida rounded out the dual winners with their victories over Josh Otto and Pete Christensen to complete the shutout.
The Cyclones looked primed for a battle with No. 3 Iowa on Sunday, a team that also fielded a roster of new faces over the weekend on the way to a ranked win over No. 16 Oregon State
No. 3 Iowa's win over No. 16 Oregon State offers insight on team’s strength ahead of Cy-Hawk dual
Iowa’s win over the Beavers was one of several big ranked team wins over the weekend, and it’s worth unpacking further because of the implications of this dual on the Cy-Hawk matchup next week.
CY-HAWK: History and notable moments from this annual rivalry dual
The scoreboard tells a story of Iowa dominance, and the Hawks absolutely pulled out some key individual victories, most notably at 133 pounds with Brody Teske’s major over Gabe Whisenhunt and at 174 pound with freshman Gabe Arnold’s 4-2 win over All-American Travis Wittlake. NCAA finalist Real Woods also earned bonus in his tech fall win over Cleveland Bolton and Zach Glazier looked tough at 197 pounds in his major decision win against Justin Rademacher.
But Oregon State’s wins at 125, 184 and 285, as well as the Beavers’ tight match at 149 pounds show areas Iowa will need to address ahead of next weekend. The 125-pound match upcoming against the Cyclones, for instance, will feature a rising Terukina against a scrappy Drake Ayala of Iowa whose loss to Oregon State’s Brandon Kaylor would not be nearly as concerning for Iowa if Kaylor, a 2022 All-American, had not already taken two unranked losses this year. Every match will matter in the Cy-Hawk dual, and Ayala will need to make adjustments if he wants to avoid giving up three early team points to start the dual.
Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye 🙌#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/UVZPuFBfIu
— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) November 19, 2023
At 149 pounds, a weight Iowa won over the weekend but one that required an overtime battle, Hawkeye transfer Victor Voinovich topped Nash Singleton, though he’ll have Round of 12 finisher Casey Swiderski next week. The Cyclone could pose an even bigger threat than Singleton.
Iowa will also be outranked on paper at the aforementioned 184- and 285-pound weights, though if the Hawks roll out freshman Gabe Arnold again at 174 pounds, they could look for some firepower once again from the young star to jump-start the back half of their lineup.
2021 NCAA CHAMPS: Here's how Iowa won the national tournament two years ago
Iowa has never lost a Cy-Hawk dual under the leadership of head coach Tom Brands, but this is the best Iowa State squad that coach Kevin Dresser has had in his time at the helm. All eyes will be on ESPN on Sunday afternoon as these two teams head into battle against one another.
No. 4 Missouri, No. 8 VT, No. 23 Pitt earn big ranked victories
Beyond the state of Iowa, Missouri earned a dominant victory against No. 21 Arizona State while Virginia Tech and Pitt rebounded from losses earlier this year to notch wins against No. 13 Rutgers and No. 17 Lehigh, respectively.
The Hokies’ win came first, as they stopped the tough and deep Scarlet Knights in New Jersey on Friday night behind a bonus win from Bryce Andonian and decisions from Sam Latona, Caleb Henson, Rafael Hipolito Jr., Mekhi Lewis and Sam Fisher. Rutgers battled hard, most notably at 133 pounds with NCAA qualifier Dylan Shawver taking Latona to overtime and forcing the two-time All-American into some wild scrambles. The Scarlet Knights’ individual bout victories at 125 from Dean Peterson, 197 pounds from John Poznanski and 285 pounds from Yaraslau Slavikouski show that Rutgers has All-American contenders at those weights, while teammate Mitch Moore also looks tough at 141 pounds.
𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐞 🤫
— Virginia Tech Wrestling (@HokiesWrestling) November 20, 2023
Rewind to an electric Friday night on The Banks. Onto the next one.
Shoutout to all the Jersey Tech Hokies who made it out; y'all made us feel right at home.#ALLINALLTHETIME #Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/8Yf3AQ1aT7
Rutgers’ depth was a key storyline heading into this dual, but Tech proved too elite. The Hokies will now look to carry this momentum into the Cliff Keen Invite where all of their individual athletes will be tested. Rutgers, on the other hand, will take on Edinboro after Thanksgiving in a dual where the Scarlet Knights will be expected to put up big team points.
Of the ranked teams outside of the state of Iowa that earned wins this week, Virginia Tech is the only one heading to Cliff Keen.
Missouri, who stopped No. 21 Arizona State 39-6 this weekend, will have No. 20 Oklahoma after the holiday instead, though the Tigers will be expected to continue their bonus point ways up and down the lineup against the Sooners. Missouri has a bonus-point machine at 165 pounds in No. 1 Keegan O’Toole, and he added a major decision in his bout against the Sun Devils, but he wasn’t the only one to run up the scoreboard in this dual. Missouri bookended the dual with falls from Noah Surtin and All-American Zach Elam in its dominant victory, while Colton Hawks, Brock Mauller and Peyton Mocco notched tech falls at 197, 157 and 174.
HODGE TROPHY: Everything you need to know about this prestigious college wrestling award
Arizona State’s lineup had a number of notable missing pieces, including All-American Cohlton Schultz at heavyweight at No. 2 Richie Figueroa at 125 pound, but the Tigers sent a message anyway. As Arizona State prepares to move to the Big 12, this dual could have shown hints of a new conference rivalry. Instead, it was all Missouri, from start to finish. The Tigers, the reigning Big 12 champs, will be conference favorites, until proven otherwise.
Much like Missouri, Pitt notched a standout win over the weekend, despite giving up pins in the first two bouts of the dual. Trailing 6-0 against the Mountain Hawks, the Panthers rattled off wins from All-American Cole Matthews, Jack Pletcher, Dylan Evans and NCAA qualifiers Holden Heller, Luca Augustine and Reece Heller before Lehigh’s Michael Beard finally stopped the momentum. Beard teched Pitt’s Matt Stout, but, in return, Pitt heavyweight Dayton Pitzer beat Nathan Taylor to end the dual and give the Panthers the 24-17 victory.
Bonus points from Madrigal and Ruth propel Illini over No. 22 UNC
One week after North Carolina upset No. 21 Arizona State and two weeks after Illinois took an unexpected loss to Navy, the Illini and the Tar Heels met head-to-head for a non-conference battle that ended in favor of Illinois after by just seven points.
Carolina earned the win at 125 pounds with Spencer Moore continuing his strong season with another ranked victory, and the Illini and Heels then split 133 and 141, with Illinois earning an 8-0 major from Tony Madrigal and North Carolina returning the favor via an 8-0 major of it’s own from Lachlan McNeil. The struggles for Carolina started after that. Illinois won 149, 157, 165 and 174, punctuated by a 10-1 major decision for NCAA qualifier Edmond Ruth at 174 pounds against Sabino Portella. Ruth’s major was just the third bonus-point win in the dual and the second for the Illini, and he’d also be the last athlete to notch such a dominant victory in this match.
Carolina took decisions at 184 and 197 pounds, but an 8-2 decision from Luke Luffman against Cade Lautt sealed the win for Illinois. The Illini fell out of the Top 25 following their loss to Navy earlier this year, but this week should help the program pick up some votes in the upcoming NWCA poll and inch their way back into the top 25.
