Weekend Storylines to Follow (11/8/24)
Week two is always an interesting weekend in the college wrestling world. With the excitement of wrestling returning, did we put too much emphasis on what we saw during the first weekend of November? Did someone wrestle out-of-their-mind for one match or have a bad time getting down to weight for the first (or second time) or just had a difficult time shaking off the rust? Also, not everyone wrestles on week one (or even week two). There will be some teams we see for the first time this week.
With plenty of action going on, there’s always the chance you might miss something. So we’ve outlined some key storylines to monitor over the next three days. As always, if you’re looking for a way to watch these matches - check out our Live Streaming Guide
Bubba and the Barraclough
Last weekend, we saw Terrell Barraclough make a successful debut for Utah Valley with a win over then-#3 Hunter Garvin followed by three bonus-point wins at the Menlo Open. Anyone that followed Barraclough knew he was capable of picking up such wins. Now, can he string them together? An opponent like Bubba Wilson of Nebraska is the perfect kind of barometer for this. Wilson is a tough out and a two-time national qualifier. With 165 lbs being influx (aside from the top tier), Wilson could be an All-American threat.
Throwing Down on the Yorktown
Late Friday afternoon and into the evening is the setting for “Throwdown on the Yorktown” which should be one of the biggest spectacles of the college wrestling season. Army West Point, Gardner-Webb, The Citadel and Virginia will all be in dual competition on the flight deck of the USS Yorktown. DII Lander and Newberry will wrestle too, as will Campbellsville and Presbyterian’s women’s programs. It will be a great start for a strong weekend of action.
Stanford’s Iowa’s Swing
Chris Ayres’ team has loaded up the schedule for his second year with Stanford. The Cardinal will travel to Iowa State for a dual tonight, followed by a Saturday afternoon matinee at Carver-Hawkeye Arena with Iowa.
We could see Jaden Abas hit a pair of All-Americans in Anthony Echemendia and Kyle Parco. Abas and Parco have a long history, but it’s all in favor of the new Hawkeye, Parco.
Iowa native Hunter Garvin returns to his home state and will have his hands full with #2 Michael Caliendo on Saturday. It’s unclear who he’ll have against Iowa State, but it should be a quality opponent - either #10 MJ Gaitan or Connor Euton.
Redshirt freshman Tyler Knox could have All-American’s on back-to-back days with #5 Evan Frost (Iowa State) and #7 Drake Ayala (Iowa) at 133 lbs.
Tournament Saturday
We don’t have full entries for Saturday’s tournaments and it can be frustrating to speculate because of that fact, plus having to anticipate advancement - but there should be some excellent matchups at tournaments on Saturday. Primarily the TigerStyle Invite. It is a small tournament, but features #8 Missouri, #16 Little Rock, #25 Purdue, #29 Maryland along with Cal Poly and SIU Edwardsville. One of the weights I’ll focus on is 133 as many of these programs have high-quality 133’s.
Also on Saturday is Appalachian State’s Mountaineer Invitational, the Michigan State Open, and the Bison Open.
One note about the Michigan State Open is that there will be a small contingent from Oklahoma State traveling to East Lansing, so it’s the first opportunity to see David Taylor’s team in action.
Vinson’s Dual Debut
Buffalo is one of the team’s that will travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for WrangleMania. It will feature the dual debut of the Bulls head coach Donnie Vinson. Some of Buffalo’s wrestlers participated in the Clarion Open; however, this will be the first time they’re in action in a team competition. Vinson’s team will have the opportunity to get off on the right foot during a 10am dual against Sacred Heart. California Baptist follows at 12pm.
Shark Alert
Last year at WrangleMania, Long Island stunned Buffalo in dual competition. Later in the year, the Sharks minted their first DI national qualifier in Anthony D’Alesio. 2024 will have LIU heading to Bethlehem under the leadership of former Buffalo wrestler John Arceri. They have a winnable dual in round one against Duke, before meeting Arizona State.
First Look at Rutgers
#18 Rutgers will take the mat for the first time in 2024-25 in two duals that they’ll be heavily favored in - against Duke and Franklin & Marshall. Should they unveil their full lineup, it could be a very imposing group. Rutgers will have to be ready as #8 NC State is looming on the horizon at next week’s Jersey Jostle.
In-State, But Out-of-State
A pair of North Carolina teams will head to Bethlehem to square off as #8 NC State clashes with Campbell. This dual might be one of the best of the weekend, in terms of ranked versus ranked matchups. Half of the ten bouts could featured ranked opponents meeting. None bigger than the big men with returning All-American #7 Taye Ghadiali facing 2023 U23 World Champion #10 Isaac Trumble.
Looking beyond the ranked matches, I’m eager to see how 149 lbs plays out. Koy Buesgens started the year in the bottom half of the rankings. He had a very solid 14-2 redshirt campaign in 2023-24. Buesgens dropped out after a loss last week to The Citadel’s Jacob Silka. On the other side is true freshman Eugene Harney. Harney was one of Campbell’s standouts at the “Dual At the Daddy” when he upset then #15 Gabe Willochell in his college debut. A big weekend, could force Harney into the top-33 at 149 lbs.
Arizona State/Illinois Headlines WrangleMania
The must-see dual matchup from WrangleMania pits #13 Illinois against #21 Arizona State. One key match comes at 149 lbs with #10 Kannon Webster and #14 Jesse Vasquez. It will end with a pair of heavyweights that have made age-group Greco world teams in #4 Cohlton Schultz and #13 Luke Luffman. All preseason I’ve had my eye on Illinois being a very tough team, beating Arizona State would go a long way towards proving their potential.
Back-to-back ACC Opponents for Navy
Last week, we highlighted Navy’s dual with Pittsburgh as one to watch. It was great in 2023. This one was extremely lopsided (35-3) in favor of Pittsburgh. Now, Navy has another ACC opponent in North Carolina. Can Navy put the Pitt loss behind them and move onto the Tar Heels? This will be the first dual competition of the season for Rob Koll’s team; however, they had plenty of standouts at the Southeast Open. Both teams will wrestle Drexel, as well.
He’s Back!
Saturday will mark the dual debut of John Stutzman version 2.0 for Bloomsburg. Stutzman returns to the school where he made a name for himself after spending a decade coaching Buffalo. His team will see action against one of his former pupils and assistant coaches in Frank Beasley, head coach of the host George Mason Patriots. Millersville and Williams will also wrestle both schools.
Journeymen Collegiate Classic
On Sunday, many of the team’s that participated in WrangleMania will stay in Bethlehem for the Collegiate Classic. This event divides wrestlers into pools, generally based on similar talent, and they compete in round-robin action - followed by a cross-pool matchup where the winner’s meet, and second-place wrestlers meet, along with the same for third-place finishers.
Again, it’s difficult to project who will advance, but we’ll single out some potential weights to watch.
Pool A at 184 lbs features four ranked wrestlers - #7 Edmond Ruth, #10 Dylan Fishback, #18 Reece Heller, and #20 Brian Soldano.
Pool A at 285 lbs has three of the top-ten wrestlers in the nation with #4 Cohlton Schultz, #8 Nathan Taylor, and #10 Isaac Trumble.
Pool A at 157 lbs features #2 Meyer Shapiro and #6 Ed Scott.
At 125 lbs, there are five ranked wrestlers amongst the two pools. Pool A has #1 Richie Figueroa, #16 Max Gallagher, and #19 Sheldon Seymour. Pool B has #12 Greg Diakomihalis and #13 Diego Sotelo.
After Saturday, coaches may end up pulling some of these wrestlers and the pools would have to be redrawn. Not all of these guys will wrestle each other, but there are some interesting possibilities.
Remember, it was the 2023 Journeymen Collegiate Classic where hometown hero Ryan Crookham announced himself to the college wrestling world by stunning NCAA and world champion Vito Arujau.
