Big Ten Session One Thoughts

The energy in this arena is something very special. I typically do well with using my extensive vocabulary to express what an environment feels like, but it’s very hard to do that here. There is something very special about being in the moment of truth. Every one of these athletes and coaches have spent all season preparing to execute today, in hopes of then executing two weeks from now. It’s tense but exciting. Nervous but full of anxious adrenaline. Competing is a privilege and environments like this really remind you of that. Welsh-Ryan Arena is pretty awesome. It’s compact, but that means that there isn’t a bad seat in the house. It also means that the fan bases are all right next to one another. Hawkeyes and Buckeyes overlapping ready to yell “STALLING” at a moment's notice.

As the action begins, we begin to see upsets abound. Thankfully this is the B1G, and there are plenty of allocations and chances to rebound, but those chances involve going through one hammer after another. This is always a great time of year, the time of year when new wrestling shoes are on display. New colors, styles, and structures, all designed to raise the ceiling of their athlete. The feeling on the floor was pretty universal. We all watched the regular season, and certainly it has its value, but the general consensus is that this is when the season truly begins. You know who I like watching? Vance Vombaur of Minnesota. He’s a hammer, but not in your traditional sense. He reminds me of Parker Filius of Purdue, but instead of beating your head in like Parker would do, Vance is a whirling dervish of action and violence. He walks with the confidence of someone who knows a secret about you but won’t tell you what it is.

Sergio Lemley of Michigan just got a win over Dario Lemus of Maryland. That match was a tech fall last year, this year both wins by Lemley were close decisions. The margins here are razor-thin. As a 39-year-old man, the scrambles and twisted knees and bridged necks make me remember that I didn’t take my turmeric this morning. I’m sore just watching this. I had the chance to introduce myself this morning to Tyler Lillard of Indiana. The Hoosier recently had a B1G spotlight on some of the hardships he’s endured while still competing in the toughest sport in the toughest conference in the toughest division in the world. I recommend the spotlight highly, and Tyler couldn’t have been more gracious.

The coaches on the floor are a who’s who of legends. Brands, Sanderson, Jackson, Jaggers, O’Connor. You could fill a warehouse with the hardware that these guys have accumulated throughout their careers. Meanwhile, it’s Miller Time on Mat 1 as Kal Miller of Maryland battles with Dylan Gilcher of Michigan. Back-to-back Wolverine and Terrapin battles. If you were wondering, the difference between a turtle and a terrapin is that terrapins are largely freshwater turtles. All terrapins are turtles, but not all turtles are terrapins. Kal Miller just beat Gilcher. Wolverines don’t do quite as well in fresh water I guess.

I’m going to miss watching Ridge Lovett. He’s wearing some sweet Combat Speeds, which probably helped him with that smooth duck under a moment ago. I looked away and it’s a tech fall for Lovett. Note to self, don’t look away from Ridge Lovett. I can’t believe I missed Ridge Lovett while reminding myself that I’m going to miss watching him. I blame myself. At least I will have several more years of watching Mantanona’s wrestle. Those Wolverines are electric. My favorite show when I was a kid was Inspector Gadget. I have the same feeling of excitement getting ready to watch them wrestle as I did waiting for 6pm to watch IG. You don’t know what’s going to happen, but you know it’s going to be good.

Tommy Askey of Minnesota has very broad shoulders. You could build a small house on his back. I appreciate the Brands brothers having slightly different haircuts. It’s very helpful in telling them apart. Essential really. However, you can also tell them apart by their body language while coaching. Terry is a bit more active and animated in the corner. At the moment he’s coaching Jacori Teemer who is in a closer match than I would have guessed in the first round. Currently down 1-0 in the second. Well, not anymore. Three!!! Teemer! Threemer? Just workshopping here. Now up 6-2 at the end of the second. Things escalated quickly. 

Trevor Chumbley of the hosting Northwestern Wildcats getting his first match underway. I had the chance to speak with him at the MSU Open this year, and he talked about how cool it is to be in both the best wrestling conference in the world and also to be at one of the best institutions in the world. I like Trevor. I hope he gets on the podium this year. He has two degrees from Northwestern. It took me five and a half years to get one degree from Central Michigan. We all have our strengths I guess. As I typed that Beau Mantanona got a pin in 30 seconds. Electric. 

Branson John is a freshman for Maryland who has had a solid season in his first year in college wrestling. He’s a name I believe you’re going to get familiar with over the years if you’re not already. He started his match with a takedown against the five seed, Clayton Whiting of Minnesota. As I look down I see Sammy Sasso giving an interview to the B1G Network. What an awesome ambassador for the sport. Sometimes things happen in life that flat-out suck, and the events that ultimately lead to the end of his career certainly fall under that category. He appears to have handled it with grace and strength that I don’t believe most people have. Sammy Sasso is built different.

Brody Baumann, 174 for Purdue, is taking the mat following Chumbley’s win. Brody was my breakout pick for the Boilermakers this season, and he has helped back up my assertion as he begins the match with a quick takedown. Meanwhile, you have Braeden Scoles - a 4x Wisconsin State Champion, currently wrestling for Illinois. His opponent is 4x Michigan state champion, Stoney Buell of Purdue. Dear lord, these kids are so good. Branson John just won. If you don’t know, now you know. Baumann is up 6-1. I’m so smart. I should have majored in wrestling predictions, but that major wasn’t offered at CMU.

Derek Gilcher is a fun story. The Detroit Catholic Central product, competing for the Hoosiers, is up at 174 this season after a medical redshirt last year. He’s 9-2 on the season, having spent some time battling for the starting spot at 165, has now found his spot for the team up a weight class. He’s battling with Danny Braunagel. The Braunagels remind me of soccer goons who use wrestling as a means to prepare to fight people at soccer matches. Sorry, futbol. Danny looks prepared for the next futbol match, as he just pinned Gilcher. The call is under review, which I can only assume is a reflection of the clock and time possibly being out. The pin stands, and now Danny can go prepare for his next match with a pint of Guinness (probably not what he’s doing, but I like to think that he is). 

We are in the 10th minute of Tyler Lillard versus Anthony White of Rutgers. The rare double ride out in double overtime has them back on their feet, which once again resulted in no points. It’s a good thing that repechage isn’t a thing in college wrestling, because a marathon match like this will be tough to perform at peak levels in their next match. Although these guys are warriors and I’m simply not at that level, so maybe they’ll have a Gatorade and a sandwich and be just fine. White wins the match in the second set of rideouts. What a show. That match alone was worth the price of admission. 

Orlando Cruz for Purdue is wrestling Gabe Arnold of Iowa. This reminds me that James Rowley got hurt earlier this season and is out for the year, and that makes me sad. I like James Rowley and think he’ll be able to bounce back next season and be a real factor. Spoiler alert, I may pick Rowley as my breakout guy for next season. You heard it here first. I want Arnold to have a great year and to finish strong. He just teched Cruz, so that’s a good start. He’ll have to get through Jaxon Smith next and if so we’ll finally get the much-anticipated Starocci v Arnold match! Assuming of course that Starocci wins his first match. Probably a safe assumption. Meanwhile, we’ve got Gabe’s teammate Patrick Kennedy competing at 174 for the Hawkeyes. That’s notable because it is not Nelson Brands, the son of coach Terry Brands. No preferential treatment going on in Iowa City.

Silas Allred, Tom Seleck, Sam Elliot, Hulk Hogan. That’s the Mount Rushmore of mustaches. Silas and his mustache just pinned Dylan Russo of Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers are looking good this morning. Edmond Ruth of Illinois begins today’s tournament against Jon Halvorsen of Northwestern. Edmond is a great follow on Instagram. Here comes Zac Braunagel at 197 for the Fighting Illini. I like it when a name matches a person. It’s essential that Braun be part of their name. As I write that, he hits a very smooth post double followed by a tilt. They just announced Jaxon Smith as the winner on mat 3 before the match was over. Although it was premature, it’s probably a good guess. Ruth with an OT win. That’s not premature, simply reporting results.

Oh, man. Jacob Cardenas had cornrows earlier this week and I’m sad to report that they have been taken out. I thought those were a good sign of things to come. By the looks of his wrestling, it looks like the cornrows have done their job, as he collects a takedown followed by some back points. Jacob’s tech fall in the first is making me think that maybe hair doesn’t matter as much as I thought it did, which I appreciate as a bald man. Tom Ryan is walking around on the floor, and I realize that his hair color is almost the exact gray of the Ohio State colors. How serendipitous.

Minnesota has some great singlet options. They started today wearing the gray with the skyline on the back and the maroon trim. Their black ones are awesome, as are their classic maroon with the gold trim. We’re getting to Heavyweights, along with the first Matt Ramos sighting. Matt Ramos is the man. I got to meet him this year, and was very impressed with his character and charisma. I want all good things to happen to him. But Ramos doesn’t wait for things to happen to him. He makes things happen as he hits the fireman’s carry early on. I don’t believe he’s been taken down this season. Winning matches is much easier when you don’t get taken down. I should remind the kids that I coach of that fact. Josh Heindselman of Michigan is about to wrestle in his first and last B1G championships. He’s been a really good addition to the Michigan lineup and has been very impactful for them. I didn’t see as much of him when he was with the Sooners, but I am super impressed with him, and by all accounts, he is a great guy. Thought you should know that. I like it when wrestlers are also good people.

Oh man. I shouldn’t have said anything. Matt Ramos just got taken down. This is my fault. The score is tied 4-4 in the third with Ramos on top. He’s riding well and has just accumulated a minute of riding time, but gave up the escape to essentially tie it up. Nicolar Rivera of Wisconsin is wrestling with the ferocity of a badger, which is fitting. Oh my gosh, Ramos comes out on top in a scramble and gets the fall in overtime! Wake-up calls are helpful, and I hope that gets Ramos back on the horse. Props to Rivera. I was speaking with Jim Gibbons before the tournament (humble brag) and we were talking about how there weren’t many upsets that we were expecting in the first round. That one was almost as big of an upset as we could have gotten.

We’re into the next round of the tournament, and rather than make this piece 3,000 words (it’s 2155 words), I’m going to end this stream of consciousness here. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Stay cool. Rock on.