There was plenty of end-of-year wrestling over the past two weeks, with duals just before Christmas and some great tournaments before New Year’s. The Big 12 flexed its depth with some of the mid-major programs getting solid wins. The Collegiate Duals saw banged-up Missouri and Iowa State teams battling solid nonconference opponents. Then the Soldier Salute and Midlands had a mixed bag for the Big 12, with a handful of teams competing at both.
Utah Valley and California Baptist score ranked wins
While it’s been a few weeks, I wanted to highlight two teams that have quietly been putting together great seasons. With Adam Hall and company at the helm, the Wolverines put together a 20-14 upset over Oregon State. They won six matches and got bonus points at multiple weights for the win.
In their third season of Division I, California Baptist is putting together their best season yet. They’re quietly on a four-dual win streak, and reeled off back-to-back ranked wins over West Virginia and Cal Poly. Currently sitting at 5-2 on the year, the Lancers have already matched their wins over Division I teams from last season with eight duals to go.
Iowa State and Missouri bring banged-up squads to Collegiate Duals
Throughout this season both the Cyclones and Tigers have had issues in the lineups, with injuries playing a large role. The Cyclones went 2-1 at the event, beating Lock Haven and North Carolina before a loss to Ohio State. They were missing Kysen Terukina, Evan Frost, Anthony Echemendia, Christian Carroll, and Yonger Bastida. Terukina and Bastida both competed in some, but not all, of the duals. Terukina went 2-0 against Lock Haven and North Carolina, while Bastida went 1-0 against North Carolina.
Missouri went 1-2, narrowly beating Binghamton between losses to Little Rock and Penn State. Gage Walker officially had his redshirt pulled with the news of Noah Surtin medically retiring. Logan Gioffre appears to have made a move up to 157 and just went 0-2 at the Soldier Salute. Cam Steed returned only to injury default in his first match against Little Rock, appearing to lose consciousness from a head collision. Rocky Elam’s status is still in limbo, and with Aeoden Sinclair only having one date left, the Tigers gave up bonus points in their dual losses. There was a bright spot for them, however, with Keegan O’Toole beating Levi Haines in a thrilling overtime match.
Midlands Highlights:
The only Big 12 teams that brought some starters this year were California Baptist and West Virginia. Eli Griffin for CBU missed out on placing, going 2-2. Drayden Morton finished 5th at 165, he didn’t score any ranked wins but had a narrow overtime loss to Hunter Garvin. Nathan Haas finished sixth, including a win over Donnell Washington.
West Virginia didn’t bring their full squad but had two placers. Ian Bush was fifth, he reeled off five wins in a row after a wild 21-18 loss to Donnell Washington in the second round. Bush actually avenged the loss to Washington, lost to Brian Soldano 12-11, then beat the aforementioned Haas for his finish. True freshman Rune Lawrence was eighth at 197 as their second placer.
Soldier Salute Highlights:
No Big 12 team sent a full contingent to the Soldier Salute, but the teams that did saw some solid results. At 125 Kysen Terukina won a title, beating Missouri’s redshirting freshman Mack Mauger with a takedown at the buzzer. 149 saw Colin Realbuto finish third and Gabe Willochell finish fourth, with Realbuto getting a statement tech fall in the medal match. Jared Hill of Wyoming had a breakout performance at 157, beating top ten Tommy Askey of Minnesota in the semis in rideouts.
UNI’s Jared Simma finished third, with a narrow 3-1 loss to Navy’s Danny Wask in the semis. While neither are the starters this year, two Big 12 true freshmen stood out at 197. Oklahoma State’s Cody Merrill and Missouri’s Aeoden Sinclair both defeated Isaiah Salazar to finish third and second respectively.
Upcoming Competitions:
Air Force: AT Oklahoma State (Jan. 3)
Arizona State: AT California Baptist (Jan. 12)
California Baptist: AT Utah Valley (Jan. 4)
Iowa State: AT West Virginia (Jan. 8th)
Missouri: Cornell (Jan. 3)
Northern Colorado: Southern Scuffle (Jan. 4)
North Dakota State: Southern Scuffle (Jan. 4)
Northern Iowa: Nebraska (Jan. 5)
Oklahoma: Southern Scuffle (Jan. 4)
Oklahoma State: Air Force (Jan. 3)
South Dakota State: Mid Major National Duals (Jan. 10)
Utah Valley: California Baptist (Jan. 4)
West Virginia: Princeton (Jan. 4), Iowa State (Jan. 8th)
Wyoming: Mid Major National Duals (Jan. 10)
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