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    Tom Franck •

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    Tom Franck: Notable things we've learned this collegiate season

    There's obviously still a lot of season left, but a month and a half of Division I college wrestling is in the books. In the six plus weeks of action … a good number of questions that enthusiasts entered the season with have been answered. Here are 10 notable things we've learned thus far:

    Ben Askren (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)
    1. You can't turn your head away for a second this year in a Ben Askren match. It will probably be over by the time you return your gaze to the action. After watching Jake Herbert major Roger Kish in the NWCA/All Star Classic, one had to wonder how anyone beat him last year, especially at a lower weight class. Then you watch Askren and say "Oh, that's how." Askren's incredible run of first-period pins this year is nothing short of stunning. He should also start promoting the "Ben Askren Diet," which makes you weigh anything but 174. The mass exodus of 2006 NCAA All Americans at 174 is completely justified (second place Herbert went up to 184 and third and fourth placers Mark Perry of Iowa and Ryan Patrovich of Hofstra went down to 165).

    His dominance is so impressive … there is no wrestling message board thread that he's inappropriate for. I know he was essentially up a weight class, but how did Tony Gansen beat him at the U.S. Nationals in freestyle last year?

    2. Hofstra is the real deal as a dual meet team. They followed their shocking early-season upset over Minnesota with a dominating performance over Penn State, who appeared to match up well with them on paper.

    Question still unanswered: How strong a tournament team is Hofstra? They had a decent finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, but that was without No. 7-ranked Dave Tomassette at 125 and No. 4 Ryan Patrovich at 165, who was seeded first. At full strength, they could very well be a force at NCAA's.

    3. The new Big Ten faces at 125 are delivering. Of the 11 schools in the conference, 10 have a new 125-pounder from last year's lineup. Many of these talked-about names are doing well: No. 10 Angel Escobedo takes over for Joe Dubuque at Indiana, No. 6 Franklin Gomez takes over for Nick Simmons at Michigan State, No. 8 Jayson Ness takes over for Travis Lang at Minnesota, Brandon Prestin takes over for John Velez at Northwestern, No. 13 Gabe Flores takes over to Kyle Ott at Illinois, No. 5 Mark McKnight takes over for Brad Pataky at Penn State, Mark Moos takes over for Michael Watts … well maybe not everyone is living up to expectations.

    4. Going down a weight class from where you wrestled last year? The results so far this year suggest that maybe this isn't a great idea with the one-hour weigh in. Two exceptions: you were actually up a weight the previous year to help your team (Mike Poeta, Gabe Flores) or you're on the Ben Askren Diet.

    Cael Sanderson (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)
    5. It's not easy for coaches to come in and take over a program, no matter what your credentials are. Tom Ryan at Ohio State, Tom Brands at Iowa, and Cael Sanderson at Iowa State are all experiencing some sort of growing pains at their new schools. But hey, Jim Zalesky is 6-0 at Oregon State.

    6. It's a long season and taking some time off to heal from being banged up is probably a good idea. Troy Nickerson and Adam Frey of Cornell make their debuts at the Southern Scuffle and both come out on top. Nickerson looks like he hasn't missed a beat and Frey lives up to his billing. Ryan Lang of Northwestern misses the Reno Tournament of Champions, but comes back strong to take Midlands.

    7. The 197-pound weight class isn't as balanced as originally thought. It looked like one of those weights with a lot of tough guys who were going to beat up on each other resulting in divided opinions as to who should be No. 1. Wynn Michalak, Joel Flaggert, Josh Glenn, Kurt Backes, Phil Davis, Jerry Rinaldi, Chris Weidman, JD Bergman, etc. As November began, it seemed like Max Askren of Missouri was going to simply be another name on that list -- and it is, you just have to put it at the top.

    Question still unanswered: Just how good is the still-undefeated Mike Tamillow of Northwestern?

    8. Certain wrestlers are doomed to inconsistency. Probably at the top of the list are Gabe Dretsch of Minnesota and Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State, but CP Schlatter of Minnesota, Matt Keller of Tennessee Chattanooga, and Kurt Backes of Iowa State also appear to be in the hunt for this un-coveted title.

    9. Freshmen! In addition to the aforementioned new stars at 125, (Angel Escobedo, Franklin Gomez, Jayson Ness) you've got JP O'Connor of Harvard, Matt Coughlin of Indiana, Cyler Sanderson of Iowa State, Ryan Morningstar of Iowa, Mike Pucillo of Ohio State, Jake Varner of Iowa State, Max Askren of Missouri and Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State to name a few. At the very least these guys are showing signs of greatness, if not surprisingly consistent "W"s.

    10. It is quite clear that the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals are going to be brutal. Could the Iowa State team that just won Midlands be seeded as low at sixth? Full strength teams like Northwestern, Cornell or Central Michigan all seem very capable of an upset or two. There should be lots of nail biting 6-4 and 5-5 meets.
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