Big 12 Weekly Recap (11/27/2024)

Plenty more dual action in the Big 12 this week. The action kicked off and finished with Missouri, who went 0-2. Oklahoma State looked dominant in two conference wins over Wyoming and Arizona State. Iowa State came up short against Iowa in another round of the annual Cy-Hawk. One of the more underrated duals of the weekend saw Northern Iowa and South Dakota State go down to the wire on criteria in a great back-and-forth. 

Notable Results:

Thursday (11/21): Full Results

#12 Illinois over #13 Missouri (23-14)

141: #18 Josh Edmond Dec. #15 Danny Pucino (8-7)

165: #24 Braeden Scoles Inj. Def. #15 Cam Steed

174: #1 Keegan O’Toole Maj. #16 Danny Braunagel (16-7)

197: Aeoden Sinclair Dec. #10 Zach Braunagel (16-10)

The Tigers dropped a dual to Big 10 border rival Illinois despite true freshman Aeoden Sinclair getting a top ten win. Josh Edmond got back on track with a narrow victory over Pucino. Cam Steed had three takedowns against Scoles before an injury default that was a huge swing for team points. The Tigers were also missing Colton Hawks, but true freshman Logan Cole wrestled Ruth admirably and was only down 4-2 in the third period. 

I normally wouldn’t list an O’Toole match he’s expected to win, but the score doesn’t do the match justice. Braunagel had the first takedown, another in the second, and was only down two late in the third. He was close to scoring another one, but O’Toole did what he does best to find a takedown of his own straight-to-backs to keep his 100% bonus rate. 

Friday (11/22): Full Results

#4 Oklahoma State over #24 Wyoming (32-6)

125: #2 Troy Spratley Dec. #6 Jore Volk (SV-1 7-4)

141: #12 Tagen Jamison Dec. Cole Brooks (SV-1 7-4)

149: #19 Gabe Willochell Dec. #18 Carter Young (12-7)

197: #17 Luke Surber Dec. #16 Joey Novak (7-4)

The OK State Cowboys took out the Wyoming Cowboys in their home opener and won eight matches to two. Troy Spratley had a statement win in a Big 12 finals rematch, taking out Jore Volk to avenge two losses from last season. Cole Brooks gave ranked Tagen Jamison all he could handle and came close a handful of times but a clutch Jamison was too much to stop. 

Gabe Willochell and Carter Young had a wild back-and-forth match with Willochell finishing on top. 149 in the Big 12 looks like it could be chaotic with Willochell later dropping a match the next day to Willie McDougald. The chaos continued at 197 with some big man scrambles and Luke Surber just coming out on top. Wyoming also had a solid overtime win from Jared Hill, who took out Cutter Sheets. 

#20 West Virginia over App State (37-8)

197: Carson Floyd Dec. Rune Lawrence (SV-1 4-1)

Nothing too crazy out of this dual, but true freshman Lawrence made his dual debut. The #25 overall recruit from 2024, Lawrence still has three dates left while redshirting. 

Cal Baptist over Air Force (28-3)

197: Eli Sheeran Dec. Brian Burburjia (4-1)

Two unranked wrestlers who both look like bubble qualifiers at the moment. Burburjia had a nice ranked win over OU’s Bradley Hill last week, and Sheeran took him out here. 197 looks to be stacked with top-end talent and depth where a match like this could impact AQ spots in March. 

Minnesota over North Dakota State (39-0)

#21 Arizona State over Arizona Christian (43-3)

#21 Arizona State over Embry-Riddle (48-5)

Saturday (11/23): Full Results

#2 Iowa over #9 Iowa State (21-15)

125: Adrian Meza Dec. #27 Kale Petersen (5-1)

133: #9 Drake Ayala Dec. #5 Evan Frost (11-7)

141: Zach Redding Dec. #31 Ryder Block (5-4)

149: #4 Kyle Parco Dec. #7 Anthony Echemendia (4-3)

285: #4 Yonger Bastida Dec. #13 Ben Keuter (8-3)

The CyHawk dual ended with Iowa continuing their winning streak, but Iowa State had some great performances. Adrian Meza and Zach Redding both had ranked upsets. Terukina is planning to be back at 125, but Meza is looking great and undefeated currently. Frost and Ayala went back and forth until Ayala pulled away from neutral. 

Echemendia had the only takedown of the match, but an illegal cutback, locked hands, and eventual escape gave Parco the win. The dual was locked up for Iowa but Yonger Bastida stayed undefeated against Iowa opponents with a win over Ben Keuter. 

#19 Oklahoma over #24 Wyoming (27-6)

125: #29 Antonio Lorenzo Dec. #2 Jore Volk (3-2)

149: #21 Willie McDougald Dec. #19 Gabe Willochell (SV-1 8-5)

197: #16 Joey Novak Dec. #28 Bradley Hill (3-1)

Wyoming continued their trip through Oklahoma, taking on the Sooners the day after OK State. Oklahoma won this one with eight matches, and Wyoming winning 157 and 197. Antonio Lorenzo had two losses to freshmen last week but bounced back in a big way with a win over Volk who had a tough weekend. McDougald beat Willochell in overtime, reversing a pin by Willochell at Big 12’s last season. 

Utah Valley over Presbyterian (54-0)

Utah Valley over Duke (38-6)

#7 NC State over Utah Valley (23-16)

141: #25 Haiden Drury Dec. #7 Kai Orine (5-0)

Adam Hall took his team back east and went 2-1 on the weekend. Haiden Drury was the highlight with a 5-0 win over two-time All-American Kai Orine. Terrell Barraclough stayed undefeated with a win over Derek Fields as well. 

Sunday (11/24): Full Results

#4 Oklahoma State over #21 Arizona State (33-6)

149: #15 Jesse Vasquez Dec. #18 Carter Young (9-7)

165: #28 Nicco Ruiz Dec. #6 Cam Amine (SV-1 4-1)

285: #3 Wyatt Hendrickson Dec. #5 Cohlton Schultz (11-5)

The Cowboys began a win streak at home after beating Wyoming and Arizona State in GIA. Carter Young went 0-2 on the weekend, but Vasquez looked impressive in the win here. I’ve been waiting for a Nicco Ruiz signature win and he got one here over Cam Amine. Wyatt Hendrickson actually kicked the dual off and was controlling this match. He had a major locked up with a rideout but elected to cut and push for another takedown. Schultz managed to score off Hendrickson's attacks and keep the score closer than it felt originally. 

#10 Northern Iowa over #17 South Dakota State (16-15)

125: #5 Tanner Jordan Dec. Kyle Golhoffer (SV-1 7-4)

133: Cory Land Dec. #24 Derrick Cardinal (9-7)

174: #3 Cade DeVos Dec. #19 Jared Simma (7-6)

184: #2 Parker Keckeisen Dec. #4 Bennett Berge (8-3)

197: #8 Zach Glazier Dec. #15 Wyatt Voelker (4-3)

285: Lance Runyon Dec. #28 Luke Rasmussen (7-2)

The Panthers and Jackrabbits had a great back-and-forth dual that ended up coming down to criteria. Golhoffer got the start over Trever Anderson and took Tanner Jordan to the brink before an overtime loss. Cory Land continued to look good in the lineup with a ranked win. Cael Happel had a close 4-1 win over Julian Tagg, and Colin Dupill won a 7-6 decision over Adam Allard. Ryder Downey was just one point away from a major over Cobe Siebrecht. 

Drake Rhodes and Jack Thomsen went back and forth, but Rhodes came up with a 12-7 win. Jared Simma was close to the upset but returning Big 12 champ DeVos was clutch with a one-point win. Keckeisen pushed for bonus against Berge but came up just short. Zach Glazier and Wyatt Voelker were razor close with Glazer winning by a point as well. Lance Runyon looked great making his heavyweight dual debut, with a 7-2 win over Rasmussen. Every match was important with no bonus points and split 5-5, and UNI won on criteria on overall match points 62-51 in a great dual. 

Tuesday (11/26)

#10 Northern Iowa over #13 Missouri (24-10)

133: #27 Cory Land Dec. #31 Kade Moore (5-2)

197: #16 Wyatt Voelker Dec. Aeoden Sinclair (8-5)

285: #27 Lance Runyon Dec. #21 Seth Nitzel (6-1)

The Panthers stayed undefeated with a win over Missouri on UFC Fight Pass at Arrowhead High School, Keegan O’Toole’s alma mater. The Tigers got wins from Gage Walker, Logan Gioffre, and Keegan O’Toole. Cory Land got back-to-back ranked wins. Wyatt Voelker handled an aggressive Sinclair who was coming off a top-ten win. Lance Runyon continues to impress, three weight classes up, with a win over Nitzel. Parker Keckeisen and Ryder Downey looked dominant in bonus point wins. Northern Iowa moves to 2-0 while Missouri drops to 1-3 for the first time since 2009. 

Upcoming Competitions: 

Air Force: Cleveland State Open (Dec. 7)

Arizona State: CKLV Invitational (Dec. 6)

California Baptist: CKLV Invitational (Dec. 6)

Iowa State: CKLV Invitational (Dec. 6)

Missouri: Cougar Clash (Dec. 7)

Northern Colorado: Cougar Clash (Dec. 7)

North Dakota State: at Iowa State (Dec. 15)

Northern Iowa: CKLV Invitational (Dec. 6)

Oklahoma: Central Michigan (Dec. 6)

Oklahoma State: CKLV Invitational (Dec. 6)

South Dakota State: CKLV Invitational (Dec. 6)

Utah Valley: CKLV Invitational (Dec. 6)

West Virginia: CKLV Invitational (Dec. 6)

Wyoming: CKLV Invitational (Dec. 6)