Big 12 Weekly Recap (12/10/2024)
The biggest results of the week came out of the annual Cliff Keen Invitational, where the Oklahoma State Cowboys dominated. They only had two champs but became the first team with all 10 wrestlers in the top five since they last did it in 1999. Their impressive finish saw them win with a whopping 77-point lead over second-place Nebraska. Iowa State, Northern Iowa, and South Dakota State all finished in the top ten as well.
Outside of Vegas, there were a handful of other Big 12 teams competing. Missouri and Northern Colorado both sent wrestlers to the Cougar Clash while Air Force was at the Cleveland State Open. The only dual of the week was Oklahoma vs Central Michigan, with the Sooners getting an impressive win.
Cliff Keen Las Vegas: Brackets
Oklahoma State: 1st (192 Points)
The Cowboys dominated this tournament, with two champs and all 10 wrestlers finishing in the top five. Troy Spratley lost a one-takedown match to Matt Ramos and finished third, getting ranked wins over Caleb Smith, Brendan McCrone, and Maximo Renteria. Reece Witcraft was pinned by Troy Hohman to start the tournament and he won four matches in a row to make the third-place match. He had upsets over Derrick Cardinal and Jacob Van Dee along the way, before a wild match with Nic Bouzakis who won 13-10.
Tagen Jamison made the finals with a 7-4 win over Brock Hardy in the semis, who he also beat here last season. Jamison gave Mendez a tough match and only lost 5-2 in an impressive showing. Carter Young lost to Caleb Henson on the top side and Anthony Echemendia to fall to the fifth-place match but beat Ethan Fernandez, Colin Realbuto, and Sammy Alavarez. Caleb Fish looks like the new starter at 157 and rebounded after a second-round loss to Trevor Chumbley. Fish beat former teammate Chase Saldate and Paniro Johnson with impressive majors before consecutive medical forfeit wins to finish third.
Cam Amine made the finals but narrowly lost to Peyton Hall 4-1. In his four matches to get to the finals, he averaged just four points a match, but only gave up a point in each one. Dean Hamiti dominated his way to the finals before a much closer 4-3 win over Lorenzo Norman. He went tech, major, tech, major along the way with wins over Brevin Cassella and Simon Ruiz. Dustin Plott was also dominant before a loss to Keckeisen in the finals. He had two techs before a 2-0 decision over a surprisingly tough Issac Dean in the finals.
Luke Surber dropped a narrow 4-3 match to Andy Smith in the quarters but beat Nick Stemmet and Christian Carroll. He then had medical forfeits over Trey Munoz and Joey Novak to finish 3rd.
Wyatt Hendrickson won a title and OW for his one-sided performance. He went fall, tech, fall, Inj Def., and a first-period fall over the two-seed Isaac Trumble to win.
Iowa State: 5th (89.5 Points)
The Cyclones have a lineup that appears to be in flux with injuries, rumors of weight changes, and lineup battles. They still managed to finish fifth with six wrestlers making the podium. I was high on Adrian Meza coming in and thought he could make some noise. He didn’t get ranked wins, but went 3-2 with losses to Maximo Renteria and Brendan McCrone. Evan Frost made the finals with ranked wins over Julian Chlebove and Tyler Knox.
Jacob Frost made a start at 141 and finished 5th. He lost in the second round to Jesse Mendez before reeling off three consecutive wins to make the podium matches. He had a medical forfeit win over Cael Happel before a narrow 8-7 loss to Josh Koderhandt. In the fifth place match he had a medical forfeit over Sam Latona. An intriguing note is that both of those medical forfeits will now count as wins towards seeding thanks to the rule changes from last season.
Echemendia made his way to the semis without much issue to a matchup with Ridge Lovett. He had a great 6-2 lead after a third period takedown, and almost immediately listened to his coaches to try and cut Lovett. The mat-savvy Lovett was ready though and managed to not only get a reversal, but put Echemendia on his back, to lock up the win. He beat Carter Young to make the third-place match but was pinned by Jaden Abas, appearing to suffer a leg injury in the process.
Paniro Johnson finished in seventh as the five seed, losing a 2-1 decision to Paddy Gallagher in the quarters and an 11-0 major loss against Caleb Fish. Johnson had a medical forfeit win over Rafael Hipolito who he beat on the top side for seventh. MJ Gaitan didn’t place due to injury. After he lost to Hunter Garvin in the quarters, he had to medical forfeit in the bloodround. Aiden Riggins started his tournament with an upset over Adam Kemp, but lost to Brevin Cassella and Joseph Martin to finish 1-2.
Evan Bockman was on a tear with two bonus point wins and an 8-1 decision over a tough Nathan Haas. He ran into Parker Keckeisen in the semis and ended up medical forfeiting in consolations to finish sixth. Christian Carroll finished eighth, losing to Jacob Cardenas in the semis then Luke Surber to fall to the seventh place match. He beat Wyatt Voelker 10-9 in the top side but lost 6-1 in the rematch. Daniel Herrera made the bloodround at heavyweight and pinned the 8 seed but lost in the bloodround to Jimmy Mullen. Overall a solid tournament for the Cyclones but an already banged-up team leaves with even more injury concerns.
Northern Iowa: 6th (85.5 Points)
The Panthers finished a spot behind Iowa State but had seven wrestlers on the podium with two finalists. Cory Land was a sleeper I was high on and he looked to be well on his way with an upset over Brett Ungar to start the day. Unfortunately, a pretty significant knee injury occurred against Tyler Knox, leading Land to have to default out. Cael Happel lost his first round in a rematch against SDSU’s Julian Tagg. He rebounded in consolations with wins over Aden Valencia, Greyson Clark, and Jordan Titus before defaulting to seventh.
Colin Realbuto was back in the lineup and finished seventh. He had losses to Carter Young and Jaden Abas, but beat Gabe Willochell and Ethan Fernandez. Ryder Downey was in multiple entertaining barnburners, beating Joey Blaze in the semis with a wild takedown in a scramble. In the finals, it looked like he had some nearfall in the second period, but even after a challenge, the call stood. He ended up finishing second after a 4-3 loss to Antrell Taylor.
Jack Thomsen had one of the bigger upsets of the tournament with a 10-5 win over Terrell Barraclough to start his day. He then narrowly lost to Cam Amine in the quarters before a tech fall loss to Brock Mantanona in the bloodround. Jared Simma lost his first match to Ohio’s Garrett Thompson, but won three in a row in consolations to place. He lost to Brevin Cassella to fall to the seventh-place match. He beat Lenny Pinto in the bloodround and Big 12 champ Cade DeVos 11-9 in an impressive day. Parker Keckeisen won, going tech, tech, tech, major, before a one-sided 8-3 decision over Dustin Plott in the finals.
Wyatt Voelker lost his first-round match narrowly to Christian Carroll, but won three in a row, including a 5-1 decision over Zach Glazier in the bloodround. He lost an entertaining 5-2 match to Joey Novak and rebounded to beat Carroll for seventh. Lance Runyon continued to impress at heavyweight, with bonus point wins over Trevor Tinker and Cory Day. He lost a 3-2 decision to Jimmy Mullen to fall to 7th with a medical forfeit from Harley Andrews.
South Dakota State: 9th (62 Points)
The Jackrabbits finished top ten with half their lineup making the podium. They had a mixed day with some upsets, but a handful of their wrestlers missed the podium or finished lower than their seed. Tanner Jordan was seeded fourth but finished seventh. He lost one-score matches to Eddie Ventresca and Maximo Renteria. Derrick Cardinal was seeded 12th, but finished seventh as well. After a loss to Zeth Romney, he won three matches in a row including a major over Julian Chlebove. He then lost to Reece Witcraft but beat top seed Dylan Ragusin 12-5.
Julian Tagg missed the podium but beat Cael Happel in his first match 9-6. He lost his next two to Jameson Garcia and McKenzie Bell. Cobe Siebrecht also went 1-2, he was pinned by Chase Saldate and had to medical forfeit after. Drake Rhodes had an impressive day after coming in unseeded. He pinned Stoney Buell, won a 5-4 decision over Nicco Ruiz, and beat Hunter Garvin to finish fifth.
Cade DeVos came in as the top seed but finished eighth. He lost to Garrett Thompson, beat Matthew Singleton, and then lost to Danny Wask and Jared Simma. Bennett Berge finished third, only losing to breakout performer Isaac Dean, but getting wins over Jaden Bullock and Seth Shumate. Zach Glazier and Luke Rasmussen both missed the podium. Glazier was upset by Evan Bates in the quarters before a 5-1 decision loss to Wyatt Voelker in the bloodround.
West Virginia: 11th (40.5 Points)
The Mountaineers had two wrestlers finish on the podium including a champ. Peyton Hall beat Nicco Ruiz, Hunter Garvin, and Cam Amine in entertaining bouts to win a CKLV title. Dennis Robin won three in a row after a loss to Dustin Plott. He dropped to the seventh-place match where he beat sixth seed Jaden Bullock. Jordan Titus missed out on the podium, but had a brutal draw, where he lost to Brock Hardy in the quarters only to see Cael Happel in the bloodround and lost 11-10.
Wyoming: 12th (38.5 Points)
Wyoming had a top 12 finish with two wrestlers making the podium while missing Jore Volk. Gabe Willochell 2-2, with close losses to Sammy Alvarez and Colin Realbuto. Jared Hill finished fifth in a unique way. After a first-round loss to Peyten Kellar, he won two consecutive matches before two forfeits, a 5-4 loss to Paddy Gallagher, and a forfeit to finish fifth. Joey Novak finished fourth, beating Nick Stemmet, Camden McDanel, and Wyatt Voelker before forfeiting out.
Arizona State: 19th (31.5 Points)
The Sun Devils were without Richie Figueroa and surprisingly ended up with just one wrestler on the podium but three other wrestlers in the bloodround. Julian Chlebove had a wild match with All-American Evan Frost, building a 10-1 lead into the final period but was pinned with just one second left on the clock. He fell into consolations and suffered an upset against SDSU’s Derrick Cardinal by a 15-6 major in the bloodround. Jesse Vasquez lost to Anthony Echemendia in the quarters and suffered an upset to Cornell’s Ethan Fernandez in the bloodround.
Nicco Ruiz had an exciting back-and-forth match to upset Brock Mantanona, getting a takedown with two seconds left to win 11-9. He dropped his quarters match to Peyton Hall and had a narrow 5-4 loss to SDSU’s Drake Rhodes in the bloodround. Cohlton Schultz finished 3rd and had two wins over Jimmy Mullen, only losing to NC State’s Isaac Trumble.
Utah Valley: 23rd (21 Points)
The Wolverines only had one placer, but a handful of other wrestlers notched some good wins. Kase Mauger went 1-2, but his win was over WVU’s Jett Strickenberger. Haiden Drury suffered an upset to Josh Saunders, but won three in a row to make the bloodround. He lost a 4-1 decision to Michigan’s Sergio Lemley. Caleb Uhlenhopp had a big 6-5 win over 4 seed TJ Stewart but lost to Nathan Haas and Tye Monteiro.
Terrell Barraclough lost his first-round match to Jack Thomsen but reeled off six consecutive wins to finish third. He beat Brock Mantanona, Sammy Sasso, Hunter Garvin, and Bubba Wilson with no medical forfeits.
California Baptist: 30th (3.5 Points)
The Lancers finished last but only brought five wrestlers and had some injuries on top of it. Eli Griffin dropped his first match to Jacob Frost then had to injury default out. Drayden Morton dropped his first match to Cam Amine, but had a solid win in consolations over a seeded Luka Wick. Nathan Haas had a narrow 11-9 loss to WVU’s Dennis Robin but beat Caleb Uhlenhopp, who had beaten TJ Stewart here.
Oklahoma over Central Michigan (28-6)
157: #17 Johnny Lovett Dec. KJ Evans (5-3)
174: #7 Gaven Sax Maj. #17 Alex Cramer (9-1)
197: Luke Cochran Dec. #29 Bradley Hill (8-6)
285: #24 Juan Mora Dec. #25 Bryan Caves (8-3)
Cougar Clash (Missouri, Northern Colorado): Brackets
Missouri:
125: #13 Cooper Flynn (MINN) Dec. #14 Noah Surtin (8-2)
125: Blake West (NIU) Fall #14 Noah Surtin (5:31)
141: #5 Vance Vombaur (MINN) Dec. #18 Josh Edmond (4-3)
157: J Conway Dec. #13 Vinny Zerban (UNCO) (SV 4-1)
The Tigers saw the return of Noah Surtin and the neck brace with mixed results. He had a 2-1 lead late in the third against Flynn but had already given up a stall call on the edge. Forced to the edge once again Surtin went for a throw but Flynn countered to put him on his back for the win. Against West, he had the lead after one but a reversal straight to backs led to the pin.
Vombaur and Edmond met up in the finals in a bloodround rematch from 2024 NCAA’s. Vombaur had the only takedown of the match and Edmond forced two stall calls to narrow the gap late but wasn’t able to score. In a rematch from the dual earlier this year, Conway flipped the result and got a takedown in overtime to beat Zerban for a big ranked win.
Northern Colorado:
125: #13 Cooper Flynn (MINN) Dec. #5 Stevo Poulin (7-1)
133: #20 Dom Serrano Dec. #8 Tyler Wells (MINN) (4-1)
In a great finals matchup Flynn took out Poulin with another late move. It was tied 1-1 but Flynn got a takedown and nearfall as time expired to beat Poulin. Serrano had an impressive day and a big win over Tyler Wells, scoring the only takedown of the match in the first period.
Upcoming Competitions:
Air Force: CSU Pueblo (Dec. 17)
Arizona State: at California Baptist (Jan. 12)
California Baptist: at Clarion (Dec. 14); AT West Virginia (Dec. 15)
Iowa State: North Dakota State (Dec. 15)
Missouri: Collegiate Wrestling Duals (Dec. 22)
Northern Colorado: UNC Quad Duals (Dec. 21)
North Dakota State: at Iowa State (Dec. 15)
Northern Iowa: Nebraska-Kearney (Dec. 14)
Oklahoma: Oklahoma State (Dec. 13)
Oklahoma State: at Oklahoma (Dec. 13)
South Dakota State: Tri-Dual (AT Rider) Rider/Pitt/Maryland (Dec. 20)
Utah Valley: Oregon State (Dec. 20)
West Virginia: California Baptist (Dec. 15)
Wyoming: AT Penn State (Dec. 15)