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    Christopher Miller •

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    Five weekend takeaways in college wrestling

    Daton Fix made a successful return, cruising to a title at the Cowboy Challenge (Photo/Oklahoma State Athletics)

    We are one week closer to the 2021 NCAA wrestling postseason. Even though the always highly anticipated Penn State vs. Iowa dual meet didn't happen as originally scheduled due to a COVID-19-related shutdown in Iowa City, the weekend did not fall short on noteworthy storylines.

    Here are five things that caught my eye from this past weekend (Feb. 12-14) in college wrestling.

    Cowboy Challenge

    This wrestling season has been an odd one to say the least. Sunday, in Stillwater, Oklahoma, a sliver of normalcy returned as fans saw a regular season tournament style event, the only such event of the season.

    The Cowboy Challenge, though smaller than usual, still proved exhilarating:

  • Daton Fix returned to the mat after his suppression. The United States Anti-Doping Agency suspended Fix for a year after the Sand Springs, Oklahoma native tested positive for a prohibited substance last year. Fix said he ingested Ostarine unintentionally after drinking from a water bottle his father prepared for himself. Still, Fix has remained the consensus No. 1 at 133. Sunday, Feb. 14 he defended that ranking, going a perfect 3-0, with three falls. It may have been Fix's first match for the Cowboys in 2021, but the 2019 NCAA finalist appears to be in midseason form.

  • Another note from the Cowboy Challenge: West Virginia's No. 4 Noah Adams failed to avenge his lone loss of the season to No. 12 Stephen Buchanan of Wyoming. After Buchanan snapped Adams' 39-match win streak in a dual contest on Feb. 6, the Wyoming Cowboy beat the Mountaineer again in Stillwater eight days later. Adams used a reversal to regain control with 30 seconds left in the match, but it wasn't enough, as Buchanan escaped to score a late takedown for the 5-4 lead. With the takedown, Buchanan claimed the riding time point for the 6-4 win.

    The two will likely see one another again in early March at the Big 12 Championships, March 6-7 in Tulsa Oklahoma.

    No. 3 Penn State downs No. 2 Michigan

    Penn State may have had their dual against Iowa postponed, but the Lions did not stay idle this weekend. Both Penn State and Michigan -- and the Big Ten Network -- scrambled to put a marquee dual meet in front of a national audience. The hastily rescheduled dual between conference foes did not disappoint.

    Not only was the dual a here, 18-13, in favor of Penn State, but also it produced numerous talking points:

  • Cael Sanderson collected his 200th career coaching victory. Congratulations, Cael.

  • The Nittany Lions appear to have eliminated any remaining questions related to their starting lineup as postseason competition nears. It appears that true freshman Robert Howard is the guy at 125. Redshirt freshman, Terrell Barraclough, looks to be in at 149. Additionally, it was confirmed earlier in the week that Greg Kerkvliet will not suit up at heavyweight for PSU.

  • Howard looked solid in his first collegiate match, delivering a tight 6-5 victory over a talented Jack Medley. He proved the college stage wasn't too big for him. While I don't want to overreact after a single match, I expect him to make some noise in the coming weeks. Similarly, Barraclough took No. 6 Kanen Storr to the brink in a 4-3 defeat. This is certainly encouraging for the PSU faithful.

  • After a rocky start to his redshirt freshman campaign, No. 8 Carter Starocci proved why he was one of the of the most coveted recruits in the Class of 2019. He stunned No. 2 Logan Massa in overtime. Massa chose down in his tie-breaker period and Starocci turned the Wolverine for four back points and posted the thrilling 7-1 win. As Jim Gibbins intimated during the broadcast, another Penn State star may have just been born.

    This young crop of Nittany Lion grapplers will be fun to watch over the next few seasons.

    Another top-ranked wrestler returned to the mat Sunday

    Ryan Deakin (Photo/Northwestern Athletics)
    There had been speculation as to whether the nation's top 157-pounder, Ryan Deakin, would wrestle for the Northwestern Wildcats in 2021. That question was answered this weekend during the Wildcats final home dual, a Big Ten showdown with Wisconsin, on Senior Day in Evanston, Illinois.

    The consensus No.1 Deakin made his 2021 season debut and looked dominant, earning a 21-4 tech fall in the third period over Gavin Model. Deakin also picked up an additional exhibition win in the extra matches over Wisconsin's Devin Bahr.

    For Deakin, these wins come after a 2019-20 season that saw the Bloomfield, Colorado native finish as a Big Ten champion and a Hodge Trophy finalist. On the year, he was a perfect 21-0 with 13 wins by major decision.

    Although the Wildcat is a little late to the party, he will be an instant title contender at 157 pounds in St. Louis next month.

    Virginia Tech wins ACC team title, Mekhi Lewis is dethroned

    At 165 pounds, the featured match of the Pitt vs. Virginia Tech dual did not disappoint. While the match didn't go the distance, No. 10 Jake Wentzel looked in control against No. 1 Mekhi Lewis. Wentzel got the win after two periods of action. An apparent left shoulder injury to Lewis ended the match early. Wentzel had over two minutes of riding time when the match was stopped.

    In the first period, after Wentzel was in deep on a single leg, Lewis got defensive, hooping around on his free leg for over a minute before Wentzel finally secured the takedown. Wentzel ended the period in the top position with a 2-0 lead.

    In the second period, Wentzel authored a debilitatingly physical, but clean ride for a minute and 36 seconds before injury time was called for the VT middleweight. Due to the injury, Wentzel was able to choose his position on the restart. He chose bottom and escaped to take a 3-0 lead into the third. However, the match was called.

    While nobody wants to win via injury default, No. 10 Wentzel's dominance through the first two periods should not be overlooked. The Pitt redshirt senior can be suffocating from the top position.

    It is possible that these two ACC rivals could meet two more times this season, first at ACCs, then again at NCAAs. That said, both Lewis and Wentzel will face still competition in the coming weeks. The 165-pound class is very deep in not only the ACC, but also nationally.

    It felt like Rivalry Week on the mat this weekend

    Usually, college football and college basketball get the most attention and notoriety when rivalry games are referenced. Well, during Week 7 of the 2021 college wrestling season, there was no shortage of rivalry matchups being decided on the mat.

    Arguably the biggest rivalry in college sports, Michigan vs. Ohio State, came down to the wire, being decided in the final seconds of dual's last bout. The No. 12 Buckeyes fought valiantly, but couldn't hand hated rival, No. 2 Michigan, its first loss of 2021. Complete match results can be seen here.

    One of the oldest, most respectful rivalries in college sports, Army vs. Navy, also played out on the mat this weekend. No 18 Navy defeated Army West Point in annual Star Match. Navy won four of the final six matches, including a match-clinching 14-3 major decision by 157-pound freshman Andrew Cerniglia to capture a 20-13 victory over Army, Friday evening at Christl Arena. Complete match results can be seen here.
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