Big 12 Weekly Recap (11/12/2024)

Week two of the season continued big events for the Big 12 with multiple duals and tournaments on the docket. West Virginia and Wyoming handled lower division in-state schools in duals. Iowa State lost their home opener in a surprising upset, with an asterisk of missing multiple starters. Utah Valley, North Dakota State, California Baptist, and Air Force had dual losses to ranked teams but had some bright spots. 

Missouri hosted an invite with positive results. Oklahoma State flexed their depth at the Michigan State Open. Arizona State had a tumultuous weekend between duals and the Journeyman Classic. Let’s take a look at some of the more notable results to come out of this weekend. 

Notable Results:

11/6: #20 West Virginia over Glenville State (35-10) | Full Results

133: #20 Jett Strickenberger Tech Hunter Ross (17-2 7:00)

184: Kyle Homet Dec. #21 Ian Bush (11-10)

The most notable result from this is Strickenberger at 133. He’s a large 125 so a move up wouldn’t be shocking. However, he competed at 133 for a dual last season so this is just a situation to look out for. 

11/8: #15 Stanford over #7 Iowa State (23-21) | Full Results

141: Aden Valencia Fall Zach Redding (5:50)

149: #7 Anthony Echemendia Dec. #12 Jaden Abas (11-5)

165: #7 Hunter Garvin Dec. Connor Euton (10-3)

174: #17 Lorenzo Norman Maj. Aiden Riggins (10-1)

197: #32 Christian Carroll Dec. #17 Nick Stemmet (11-7)

The Cyclones had a rough home opener with an upset loss to Stanford, who had to forfeit 125, while missing most of their starters. It sounds like Casey Swiderski will eventually man the spot at 141, but Zach Redding started here. He ran into a red-hot Valencia and was pinned in an entertaining back-and-forth match. Anthony Echemendia beat Jaden Abas in an exciting match, firmly establishing himself as a contender up a weight.

Like Swiderski, it sounds like Gaitan is making a descent down. In the meantime, Connor Euton had a match with Hunter Garvin that was closer than the score appeared. With Gaitan dropping down it seems like Aiden Riggins may be the starter at 174, who came up short against Norman. That loss looks better after Norman went on to upset Nelson Brands the next day. A bright spot for the Cyclones came at 197, where Christian Carroll showed his athleticism at 197 and a solid gas tank against a game Nick Stemmet. 

11/8: #3 Nebraska over Utah Valley (32-7) | Full Results

141: #4 Brock Hardy Dec. #27 Haiden Drury (4-0)

165: #6 Terrell Barraclough Maj. #19 Bubba Wilson (8-0)

285: Jack Forbes Dec. #27 Harley Andrews (5-4)

The Wolverines had a high-profile dual against Nebraska and came away with two ranked wins. Barraclough continues to establish why he’s a contender this season with a one-sided bonus point win over Wilson. This is Forbes’ first year as a starter, and he scored a ranked upset to give himself a solid win early in the season. 

11/8: #25 Oregon State over North Dakota State (35-6) | Full Results

149: #32 Gavin Drexler Dec. Victor Jacinto

184: TJ McDonnell Dec. #31 Aidan Brenot (9-6)

After beating teammate and expected starter Maxwell Petersen last week, Drexler got his chance to start. He impressed with a near-bonus point win over a tough Oregon State team. Drexler is now 8-1 on the season and his only loss was a 5-2 decision to Ty Watters. Aidan Brenot had entered the rankings for NDSU after a solid Southeast open but suffered an upset against McDonnell. Just a redshirt freshman he still has plenty of upside and is one to watch this season. 

11/8: #19 Oklahoma over Air Force (32-3) | Full Results

141: #18 Mosha Schwartz Dec. Carter Nogle (16-9)

165: Andrew Harmon Dec. Mannix Morgan (7-3)

197: #23 Bradley Hill Dec. Brian Burburjia (4-1)

The second Big 12 dual of the year kicked off here with the Sooners getting a dominant win on the road. Antonio Lorenzo, Cleveland Belton, Carter Schubert, DJ Parker, Bradley Hill, and Juan Mora all made their debuts as expected starters and got wins. 

Mosha Schwartz made his return after an injury last season, but Nogle scored two takedowns and nearly put Schwartz on his back as time expired. 

Brian Burburjia gave up a last-second takedown at the end of the first period and was close to getting a match-tying takedown in the third as time expired. Overall an impressive debut for OU, but Air Force showed good fight and has guys to look out for this season. 

11/9: Wyoming over Western Wyoming (46-0) | Full Results

Like West Virginia, not too much to take from this result, as Wyoming had four falls and four majors in a dominant win over NJCAA Western Wyoming. 

11/9: #21 Arizona State over LIU (38-3) | Full Results

184: Aziz Fayzullaev Fall #30 Anthony D’Alesio (LIU) (2:59)

11/9: #13 Illinois over #21 Arizona State (37-6) | Full Results

133: #3 Lucas Byrd Dec. #18 Julian Chlebove (4-0)

149: #10 Kannon Webster Maj. #14 Jesse Vasquez (21-7)

165: #33 Braeden Scoles Fall #30 Nicco Ruiz (2:53)

285: #13 Luke Luffman Dec. #4 Cohlton Schultz (SV 2-1)

Aziz Fayzullaev was a name that entered my radar this offseason as a two-time NJCAA champion for Northwest College and a U23 Asian Championship title for Uzbekistan. He made an immediate impact with a pin in his debut over a ranked opponent. He followed that up with an 11-7 decision loss to Illinois and established himself as one to look out for. 

If you look at the rankings in this article you’ll notice that Arizona State is ranked #12 as a tournament team and #21 in duals. That’s further proven with a surprisingly one-sided loss to Illinois, where the only match they won was a fall by Richie Figs. The only actual upsets came between freshmen with Scoles pinning Ruiz in the first period and Luke Luffman upsetting Cohlton Schultz. 

Ruiz was up 6-1 at the time with 1:30 of riding time before Scoles got funky to put Ruiz on his back in a high-paced first period. Luffman was the aggressor in the match and actually won on a stall call in overtime. Schultz rebounded later in the week at the Journeyman Classic, which I’ll touch on later. 

California Baptist over Buffalo (29-6) | Full Results

Campbell over California Baptist (27-12) | Full Results

133: #22 Dom Zaccone Dec. Hunter Leake (8-2)

141: #30 Shannon Hanna Dec. Eli Griffin (TB-2 4-2)

Leake and Griffin are two names I’m keeping an eye on throughout the season as they were the Lancer’s first-ever NCAA qualifiers last season. They’ve taken losses so far, but are still notable names to look out for. Leake and Griffin improved throughout last season and made a late run to qualify. 

11/9: Bison Open (North Dakota State, South Dakota State) | Brackets

Nothing too crazy out of this tournament, with a mix of starters, young wrestlers, and backups. Tanner Jordan (125), Derrick Cardinal (133), Drake Rhodes (165), and Luke Rasmussen (285) are all starters who won titles for the Jackrabbits. North Dakota State saw Gavin Drexler win a title at 149, including two tech falls. 

11/9: Tiger Style Invite (#8 Missouri) | Brackets

133 SF: #20 Zeth Romney (CP) Dec. #29 Kade Moore (10-4)

149 Finals: #8 Chance Lamer (CP) Dec. #24 Logan Gioffre (10-4)

157 QF: #31 J Conway Maj. #27 Legend Lamer (CP) (18-7)

157 Semis: #18 Joey Blaze (PUR) Dec. #31 J Conway (7-4)

165 Finals: #23 Cam Steed Fall Luka Wick (CP) (0:40)

174 Finals: #1 Keegan O’Toole Tech #30 Brody Baumann (PUR) (21-4 5:09)

184 Finals: #14 Colton Hawks Dec. #13 Brock DelSignore (LR) (2-1)

285 Semis: #23 Seth Nitzel Maj. #20 Trevor Tinker (CP) (8-0)

285 Finals: #15 Seth Nevills (MARY) Dec. #23 Seth Nitzel (SV-1 5-2)

The Tigers hosted their third Tiger Style Invite in Kansas City with Purdue, Maryland, Cal Poly, SIUE, and Little Rock. No team brought their full lineups, but there were still a handful of ranked matches to look out for. Missouri came away with titles at 141, 165, 174, and 184 and finalists at 149 and 285. 

Josh Edmond won a title at 141 but didn’t see any ranked opponents on the way. Logan Gioffre came up short to Chance Lamer in the finals for the second year in a row, but it was an entertaining bout. Cam Steed showed off his dangerous cowcatcher/snake move, getting a quick pin over Wick in the finals. O’Toole continued his Hodge campaign with three more techs and a fall. Colton Hawks navigated a tight match to upset Brock DelSignore in the finals. Seth Nitzel upset Trevor Tinker but lost a battle of the Seth’s in the finals in overtime. 

11/9: Michigan State Open (#4 Oklahoma State) | Brackets

133 Finals: Cael Hughes Dec. Zan Fugitt (WIS) (7-4)

157 Semis: #16 Johnny Lovett (CMU) Dec. Caleb Fish (4-2)

157 Consi Semis: Brock Herman (tOSU) Dec. Caleb Fish (11-4)

184 Semis: Jersey Robb Dec. #33 Jared McGill (EDIN) (SV 8-5)

197 Finals: Cody Merrill Dec. #24 Evan Bates (NW) (4-2)

285 Finals: Konner Doucet Dec. #28 Jordan Greer (OHIO) (2-0)

The Cowboys only brought one starter here, with Tagen Jamison dominating his way to a title against unranked opponents. They really flexed their depth and young talent here at multiple weights. Cael Hughes could end up the starter at 133 for them and won a title over another young blue chipper Fugitt. Caleb Fish is redshirting, but losses to Johnny Lovett and Brock Herman could be considered upsets. 

Jersey Robb won a title and scored a ranked win along the way, potentially showing a preview for this weight in the future. Cody Merrill did the same and impressed in his collegiate debut with a win over an NCAA qualifier. Konner Doucet is now behind Wyatt Hendrickson but had a ranked win in the finals. 

11/10: Journeyman Classic (#12 Arizona State, California Baptist) | Brackets

#12 Arizona State

149: #14 Jesse Vasquez Dec. #29 Finn Solomon (PITT) (12-8)

149: Cross Wasilewski (PENN) Dec. #14 Jesse Vasquez (7-4)

165: Max Brignola (LEH) Dec. #30 Nicco Ruiz (SV-1 6-3)

285: #4 Cohlton Schultz Fall #10 Isaac Trumble (NCST) (1:04)

After a tough loss to Illinois, the Sun Devils had mixed results in the tournament setting. Vasquez beat Solomon but had an upset loss to Wasilewski, although that may be more a testament to the talented Penn wrestler. Nicco Ruiz had another loss, this time in overtime to two-time qualifier Max Brignola so not a bad loss by any means. Schultz rebounded in a big way with a quick pin over Trumble.

California Baptist

184: Colin Fegley (LH) Maj. #29 Nathan Haas (12-1)

184: Will Ebert (BING) Fall #29 Nathan Haas (2:32)

Haas went 2-0 in the duals but had two upset losses in the tournament. Ebert had a big weekend, also beating Edmond Ruth, so that loss shouldn’t hurt him as bad. 

Upcoming Competitions: 

Air Force: AT California Baptist (Nov. 22)

Arizona State: Daktronics Open (Nov. 17)

California Baptist: Air Force (Nov. 22)

Iowa State: Navy (Nov. 15)

Missouri: AT Virginia Tech (Nov. 15)

Northern Colorado: AT Drexel/Penn (Nov. 15/16)

North Dakota State: Daktronics Open (Nov. 17)

Northern Iowa: Grand View Open (Nov. 16)

Oklahoma: Daktronics Open (Nov. 17)

Oklahoma State: AT Utah Valley (Nov. 15)

South Dakota State: Augustana (Nov. 15); Daktronics Open (Nov. 17)

Utah Valley: Oklahoma State (Nov. 15)

West Virginia: AT Rider (Nov. 14)

Wyoming: AT Oklahoma State (Nov. 22)