Takeaways, Random Thoughts, and More from the 2023 Midlands/Salute

Before we ring in the new year, let’s take a moment to rehash some of the key happenings that went down on Friday and Saturday at the Midlands and the Soldier Salute. Both tournaments featured some star power, combined with some unforeseen upsets, and plenty of action. Even some memorable, cringeworthy moments. Which brings us to: AJ Ferrari at the Soldier Salute As tends to be the case whenever he enters a tournament, AJ Ferrari stole the show at the Soldier Salute, and not necessarily for good reasons. Ferrari and younger brother, Anthony, moved to Iowa a few months ago to train, with the intention of enrolling in school at the University of Iowa. Their younger brother Angelo is a top recruit in the Class of 2024 who recently inked with the Hawkeyes. AJ’s tumultuous run at Oklahoma State ended in July of 2022 after winning a national title the previous year. He was unable to compete in the 2022 postseason after suffering severe injuries from a dangerous auto accident. Concerns regarding a sexual assault case that surfaced shortly after he was off the team at Oklahoma State prevented him from joining a collegiate roster last season. Those charges were eventually dropped in October of this year. After the charges were dropped it was expected that Ferrari would join the Hawkeye wrestling team. At that point, there was some uncertainty as to how the 197 lb weight class would shake out for Tom Brands' team. Since then, veteran Zach Glazier has emerged as a solid option at the weight class. Glazier won his first nine bouts of the year and was instrumental in Iowa holding off Iowa State during the Cy-Hawk dual. The Salute bracket worked out so that Glazier was in the finals against the wrestler that most assumed would end up taking his position, in Ferrari. The bulk of the match was largely uneventful, as Glazier couldn’t get through Ferrari’s tough defense; however, a stall call near the end of the third period tied the match at two. In sudden victory, Ferrari prevailed by getting a takedown in the waning seconds of the extra period. That’s where all the action started. Ferrari pushed Glazier down as he was getting up. Glazier didn’t take kindly to the action and grabbed Ferrari’s leg. The two exchanged shoves, which wasn't too out of the ordinary for a heated bout; however, then Ferrari threw a closed-fisted punch. Once both sides calmed down (slightly), the main official raised Glazier’s hand as Ferrari was hit with a flagrant misconduct call, disqualifying him from the match. After the decision and while Glazier received his award and posed for a picture with the military member on hand, Ferrari gave the booing crowd a one-fingered salute while doing the splits. It was something that would have been hard to believe had there not been photos and video evidence. Also relevant is in the 149 lb finals, Caleb Rathjen got a win over Anthony Ferrari. Plenty of Iowa fans have gone back and forth over who started it, but both gave some shoves and Rathjen did a “Ferrari-like” pose in Anthony’s face. Some defenders of the situation will point to how there’s plenty of physicality, hurt, and hard feelings behind closed doors in collegiate wrestling rooms. That’s true, but I think the Rathjen/Anthony Ferrari interaction may be representative of a bigger issue. Is that how the rest of the Iowa team feels about the Ferrari clan? Again, before someone corrects me, not everyone on college wrestling teams is best friends. There’s intense competition for starting spots and that can lend itself to rivalries and some level of division. Like everything associated with the Ferrari’s this is unlike most normal situations. It’s not far-fetched to think that the Rathjen action was representative of some one the team’s feelings toward the family. And not just the wrestlers competing against them for starting spots. I know plenty of Oklahoma State wrestlers were relieved when Ferrari was dismissed from the team. That generally doesn’t happen when a star athlete leaves a program. Coaches/athletes/fans tend to overlook faults for someone who can be a key contributor. Should he continue and enroll at Iowa, how he and Anthony impact the culture of the program is a storyline that bears following. As I’m writing this, AJ posted an apology for his actions on his Instagram account. That leads me to believe that his actions will not prevent him from joining the Iowa squad. I am anxious to see if the athletic department and administrators support such a move. One aspect of the story that was obscured by Ferrari’s post-match antics is his actual performance. I assume most people thought that Ferrari would immediately become an NCAA title threat at 197 lbs. He’s been away from high-level DI rooms for almost two years, without any competition. I’m sure rust is to be expected, but is it something that can be solved in the next two-plus months? Taking in a troubled wrestler who could be an NCAA champion is one thing, but taking that risk for someone who may not be able to compete at that same level is another. This is a story that is far from over and will likely have plenty of twists and turns over the course of the next few weeks and months. The 2023 CKLV is an aberration I spent a good chunk of time talking with friends over the last week about the “state of wrestling tournaments.” The holiday season used to be a key part of the season for wrestling fans. Midlands followed by the Southern Scuffle. One great tournament after another. Over the last 15 years, there were arguments about which of the three tournaments was the toughest. All three probably could have taken the title at one point or another. Now, the Midlands and Scuffle are way behind the CKLV. In fact, we also have another holiday tournament in the mix, the Soldier Salute, which was held on the same dates as the Midlands. The depth of the 2023 CKLV, combined with the lesser star power at the Midlands/Salute, made for a huge gap between the tournaments. If I had to bet, I’d say get used to it, provided our sport and NCAA qualification process stays the same. There are coaches who would rather not have their wrestlers come back from a very short Christmas break and cut weight for a tournament on the 29th. That tournament usually requires five or six matches for a spot on the podium. We also have conference dual season looming for most leagues. Those coaches would rather have their full complement of wrestlers available, if possible. As are many things in our sport. It makes sense on a micro level. I understand why a coach or a program decides to act this way. They’re looking for the best interests of their wrestlers and program. But when 10, 12, and 20 coaches all come to this conclusion it hurts the sport and the fans. It’s a shame that we have one marquee event in the collegiate wrestling season. That’s why I’ve been harping on the need for a dual tournament. This isn’t supposed to be a shot at anyone who competed at the Midlands and Salute or those who intend on wrestling at the Scuffle. At the same time, these are tournaments that once were considered stronger than the NCAA Tournament (the Midlands with post-grads) and featured matches like Dake/Taylor or were coming-out parties for Ed Ruth and Gabe Dean (Scuffle). Coming full circle to the 2023 CKLV, I think that it’s as tough as it’s going to get. My feelings are that the tournament was a bit “too tough.” I’d imagine some coaches will abstain from coming in 2024 because it was so loaded. Of course, I’d love to be wrong. Drake Ayala throws his hat in the ring Every sort of wrap-up or takeaway article I’ve done since the second week of the 2023-24 season has included some sort of tidbit referring to the 125 lb weight class. This one will be no different. One lightweight we haven’t mentioned too frequently yet is Iowa’s Drake Ayala. Ayala did his part in creating some chaos at the weight class when he lost to Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) and a week later took out Kysen Terukina (Iowa State) at the Cy-Hawk dual. Aside from that week’s worth of action, Ayala has generally been outside of the ongoing fracas at 125 lbs. Since then, he’s earned wins over Ivy League opponents, Max Gallagher (Penn) and Nick Babin (Columbia), both are ranked wrestlers, but not necessarily considered contenders at this time. At the Salute, Ayala posted his two best wins of the season and showed that he should probably be talked about in the mix at 125 lbs. In the semifinals, Ayala downed two-time All-American Patrick McKee of neighboring Minnesota. That was the same McKee that held a 4-0 advantage against Ayala in past meetings. All four of those wins came during Ayala’s true freshman campaign. This time, Ayala flipped the script and got the victory, propelling himself into the finals. The championship match provided another significant barometer for those trying to measure just how good Ayala is this year. Volk was coming off a title at the Reno Tournament of Champions, a fifth-place finish at the CKLV, and was sporting a top-ten ranking (#7). Ayala grabbed a first-period takedown and never looked back in his 4-2 victory over the Wyoming grappler. The final minute of the last stanza saw the two engaged in an excellent scramble, where Ayala came close to being in trouble for neutral danger multiple times; however, he always avoided trouble and fended off the takedown attempt. About 20 days from now, we’ll have a better idea of where Ayala fits into the national (and Big Ten) conversation. His next three bouts are against #4 Caleb Smith (January 12th), McKee (January 15th), and #5 Matt Ramos (January 19th). Lehigh’s bright future Go back in time about 20 years ago and you’ll be smack dab in the middle of a Lehigh wrestling renaissance. Lehigh had finished fourth at the 2003 NCAA and tied for third in 2004. One of the leaders of that Lehigh team was Troy Letters who made the NCAA finals as a freshman in 2003. After the Midlands and seeing what has occurred during the first two months of the season, could we be on the precipice of another Lehigh resurgence? Getting third or fourth in the nation is probably a tough ask for the next year or two, but the point is, there’s plenty of young talent at the disposal for head coach Pat Santoro. The most obvious example is top-ranked Ryan Crookham, a true freshman who ascended to the number one ranking nationally after wins over returning national champion Vito Arujau and Big Ten finalist Aaron Nagao. Regardless of his 2024 finish, Crookham should be a national title favorite for the rest of his career. Joining Crookham as a promising young lightweight for Lehigh is true freshman Luke Stanich. The two-time New Jersey state finalist (one-time champ) had a good start to the year with a title at the Princeton Open and a 1-1 record in duals. That still wasn’t enough for him to be considered a favorite in a Midlands weight class that was pretty tough. Stanich ended up capturing the 125 lb title with wins over Diego Sotelo (Harvard), All-American Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), and #10 Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) prior to the finals. For the championship, Stanich outlasted a tough Eli Griffin (California Baptist) 8-7 in tiebreakers. We’ll have to see how the Lehigh staff responds to this outing from Stanich. The Mountain Hawks currently have Sheldon Seymour as the starter and he’s been solid with a 9-2 record. The volatility of the 125 lb weight class kind of makes it difficult to project the future for Stanich or anyone else, for that matter. Maybe he’s an All-American this year, maybe he goes 1-2 at nationals. Looking at an even bigger picture for Lehigh, their entire lineup is made up of wrestlers that have at least one more year of eligibility after the 2023-24 season. Another year with the lightweight tandem, plus All-American Michael Beard and notables like Malyke Hines, Nathan Taylor, Connor McGonagle, and Max Brignola makes for an imposing lineup. 133 lb madness 125 has received the most publicity for being extremely unpredictable during the first two months of the season. The weight has shown no hints of slowing down or becoming normal. Another relatively unusual weight is 133 lbs. Sure there are your mainstays like Arujau and Daton Fix, along with a newcomer in Crookham. As you move down past the top-eight there are a lot of names you’re not familiar with seeing that prominent in national rankings. After the Midlands/Salute (and likely the Scuffle) those rankings will have gotten shaken up again. The Midlands bracket was won by Michigan’s Dylan Ragusin, who is expected to remain in redshirt for the duration of the 2023-24 season. Ragusin winning that weight seems reasonable; however, after him, it was rather unpredictable. #26 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) made the finals, while #31 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) was third after a major decision over #11 Michael Colaiocco (Penn). Not only did Romney capture a bonus-point win over Colaiocco, but he also downed two-time All-American #5 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech). In sixth place was Franklin & Marshall’s Mason Leiphart, who only lost to the Romney/Colaiocco/Latona triumvirate. The Soldier Salute saw #10 Brody Teske came out on top; which wasn’t totally unexpected. His finals opponent was #32 Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) who was seeded fourth. The third seed, #12 Angelo Rini (Columbia) fell in his opening match to Iowa true freshman Kale Peterson.

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