Four Reactions from the 2023 Cy-Hawk Dual

The Cy-Hawk dual is in the books and just like the past 18 times, the 2023 version fell in Iowa’s favor. Despite losing a handful of key contributors in the offseason, Iowa managed to put together an impressive lineup with the help of the transfer portal, the recruiting trail, and in-room progression. With the dual still fresh in our minds, here are some important reactions to the action that went down in Ames on Sunday afternoon. 1. Tom Brands - Strategist When fans think of Tom Brands as a coach, I’m sure that most will think of his motivational tactics or training methods. Those attributes might be accurate and some of his strong points, as a coach; however, something that doesn’t get mentioned often are his prematch and in-match strategic decisions. In his post-match interview, Gabe Arnold revealed that Brands asked him on Saturday if he’d be willing to wrestle at 184 lbs against Iowa State. We all know how that turned out as Arnold took out his second All-American in as many weeks (up a weight, to boot). With Arnold up at 184 lbs, that opened a slot at 174 lbs for Patrick Kennedy, who had yet to compete during the 2023-24 campaign. Kennedy may have come out before he was actually ready, but nonetheless, he got the job done and won a pivotal bout for the Hawkeyes. It takes a lot of guts and belief in your wrestlers, particularly a true freshman to make this type of a lineup swap. Typically, it isn’t done at the collegiate level. Had it backfired and MJ Gaitan completed his comeback against Kennedy and All-American Will Feldkamp prevailed against Arnold, I’m sure many people would have questioned Brands’ move. In the days leading up to the dual, our own Willie Saylor and others were wondering aloud whether Brands and Iowa State’s Kevin Dresser would do some of thing bumping to find optimal matchups. I wasn’t sure just because of the fact that we haven’t seen it much during Brands’ tenure in Iowa City. Now, the reason for that is partly because Iowa’s best/normal lineup is typically better than 98% of their opponents. In most cases, a lineup tweak either isn’t needed or might end up benefiting the other squad. A bit of luck plays into these situations, as well. A team has to have depth at a potential weak spot (or two) for the opponents to really pull this off. As Willie was speculating on possible lineup bumping scenarios, would it have been beneficial for Iowa State to insert true freshman Tate Naaktgeboren at 184 lbs and move Feldkamp to 197? Arnold and Naaktgeboren squared off in the Iowa 3A state finals last season (and a couple other times) and the result was always razor-thin but in Arnold’s favor. That still gives three points to the Hawkeyes, but would it have increased the Cyclone's chances at 197? Feldkamp against Zach Glazier? Feldkamp is tall and long and has made the national tournament at 197 lbs, so size would have favored Glazier, but just slightly. After watching the actual action, I’m not sure if that would have made a difference. But those are the questions the Iowa State bench is left to ponder after letting a big opportunity like this slide by. Lineup decisions, plus as Dresser discussed in his press conference, the decision to tell Gaitan to ride Kennedy for the final :14 instead of kicking him away for the winning takedown (while mixing up who had riding time), and potential brick usage at 141 lbs are factors that gave the coaching edge to Brands and the Iowa sideline on Sunday afternoon. 2. Freshmen Are Ready Some of the debate surrounding takedowns, the hand touch rule, lineups, and brick usage obscured the fact that we saw some excellent performances from freshmen on Sunday. Arnold being the obvious one, with a huge win over a returning All-American, up a weight. The Iowa braintrust has a decision to make (not immediately) about 174 lbs. Patrick Kennedy is a returning Big Ten finalist and someone who can contend for the podium at that weight once he’s fully healthy and in-shape to wrestle seven-plus minutes. Arnold has already shown that he could be a high-finisher at the weight, perhaps with more upside. To make things more complicated, it appears as if Brennan Swafford won’t be available for an extended period, if at all, for the remainder of the season. Do you proceed with a lineup that features Kennedy at 174 and an undersized, but extremely talented Arnold at 184? Do you keep Arnold in redshirt and proceed with Kennedy at 174? What about Arnold at 174 and Kennedy or someone else at 184? In the highest levels of DI wrestling (with redshirts available - not the Ivy League), you don’t typically see a true freshman wrestle up a weight, when he could be the better option at his optimal weight. Wrestling can be a selfish endeavor. Many times, the answer is to start the best option (Arnold?) and let everything else sort itself out. These are some interesting decisions that will face Iowa in the coming weeks. Aside from Arnold, there were still other impressive showings from freshmen. At 133 lbs, Evan Frost took out a past Big 12 champion (Brody Teske) with a third-period takedown and a tilt. In many people’s eyes, Frost wasn’t even penciled in as the Cyclones preseason starter, it was fellow redshirt freshman Garrett Grice, an offseason transfer from Virginia. Frost won the intrasquad bout between the two and hasn’t looked back. A win like his over Teske will buy him even more time in the lineup. At 157 lbs, the Cyclones Cody Chittum had one of the more difficult matchups of the dual with second-ranked Jared Franek, a returning NCAA fourth-place finisher. The battle-tested Chittum never looked out of place and nearly pulled off a stunner, spinning behind Franek hundredths of a second after the final horn sounded. While it’s a loss on the stat sheet, it could be a win in the long run. Nearly knocking off a wrestler of Franek’s caliber in only your third collegiate match should do wonders for Chittum’s confidence. While not technically a freshman, Anthony Echemendia is also a new face on the collegiate season and a welcome addition to the 141 lb weight class. Echemendia wrestled a smart match on his feet; holding position, drawing stall calls, and limiting Real Woods’ offense. He and the Cyclone staff wisely chose not to go underneath Woods. As Echemendia competes more, we’ll see just how much his mat-game has improved. If he can get out from solid, but not great riders, he could be a contender at the weight. 3. Another heavyweight contender? Speaking of new contenders, I think we have one at 285 lbs. Calling a guy ranked seventh at a weight class a contender isn’t a stretch, I realize that, but there are levels to it. Are they a true title contender? A sure bet to make the podium? A possible low-podium threat? Yonger Bastida moved up to 285 lbs in the offseason, so it’s hard to project just how someone fits in making that particular jump. The eyeball test says that Bastida shouldn’t be overmatched physically by the field. The days of heavyweights like Cole Konrad, bulky 6’6”-ish and 280 lbs monsters, are not currently “in.” Now, the top big men are in the 235-260 lb range. Many of them grew up wrestling a smaller weight and have grown into the weight class. They possess offensive abilities that few big men of yesteryear can fathom. Your top-three guys at the weight all fit the bill here. Greg Kerkvliet, Wyatt Hendrickson, and Lucas Davison. Does Bastida belong in that conversation? Obviously, a major decision over redshirt freshman Bradley Hill doesn’t necessarily mean you’re in the top-four nationally. Again, the eyeball test says that his offensive arsenal could present problems for a handful of wrestlers currently ranked above him. Now, through four matches, Bastida has posted 81 points in only four matches. Pumping the brakes ever so slightly on the Bastida bandwagon, he’s only beaten one ranked wrestler in those four contests; #25 Daniel Bucknavich (Cleveland State); however, it’s still quite a number. The next couple of weeks should give a better idea as to where exactly Bastida belongs in the pecking order at 285 lbs. At the Collegiate Duals, all three of his projected opponents are ranked. Two of them are in the top-21 with #11 Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh) and #21 Lewis Fernandes (Cornell). Pitzer is one of those wrestlers still growing into a heavyweight’s body, but is mega-talented. Fernandes and Bastida met at the 2022 Collegiate Duals, when Bastida bumped up from 197 lbs. As a 197 lber, he won 4-2. Does he widen the gap as a heavyweight? Right after the New Year, Iowa State is slated to meet Arizona State, which means a possible match with Greco world teamer #4 Cohlton Schultz. Schultz presents a different challenge from Kerkvliet, Hendrickson, and Davison. He’s more tactical and deliberate. Hand-fighting and positioning will be at a premium. Let’s revisit this discussion after January 5th. 4. 125 is bananas So far, the weight class that I’ve dedicated the most time to studying, from a rankings perspective, is 125 lbs. In less than a month, we’ve already had two different wrestlers hold the number one ranking (Matt Ramos - Purdue and Anthony Noto - Lock Haven). Of course, Ramos also defeated Noto by a major decision at the All-Star Classic. The wrestler who may even be considered the favorite, Richie Figueroa (Arizona State), has yet to take the mat this season. Going beyond the top couple of contenders, this weight is loaded with talent. As we saw on Sunday, #17 Drake Ayala (Iowa) took out #8 Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) in a 7-1 match. That score might even be deceiving in that Ayala left a takedown or two on the board. Over in the other dual that took place Sunday afternoon, two-time All-American Patrick McKee (Minnesota) fell to unbeaten Tanner Jordan (South Dakota State) in a wild bout. A week ago, Ayala fell to Oregon State’s Brandon Kaylor. Terukina had his way with two-time All-American Eric Barnett (Wisconsin). This was after Kaylor was shut down by North Carolina’s Spencer Moore on the opening day of the regular season. Going even further, 2023 All-American Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) already has five losses. The #31st seed at 133 lbs for the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Jack Maida (American), has dropped down and beaten Ventresca and 2023 bloodround finisher Braxton Brown (Maryland); who has subsequently moved to 133. It’s enough to make your head spin. I imagine this weight class will get crazy in Las Vegas at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Half of the top-20 are scheduled to appear. More than any other weight, I could see a semifinal that includes the number one and the #12 seed meeting up top, while say, #7 and #11 meet on the bottom. I don’t see it sorting itself out either. There are too many good wrestlers that will likely beat up on each other and make the weight totally unpredictable.

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