Old Dominion's Larry Early defeated NC State's Hayden Hidlay this past weekend (Photo/ODU Athletics)This weekend's college wrestling landscape looks completely different than last weekend's schedule, which was dominated by the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. Now that the CKLV is behind us, and with only weeks left until the Midlands and Southern Scuffle, it's time we start shifting our attention towards the bulk of the dual meet schedule.
This weekend's dual meet schedule is littered with matches that consist of both in-conference and out-of-conference duals, and it all begins on Friday night.
Friday
Old Dominion at No. 12 Northwestern (1 p.m.)
The Monarchs of Old Dominion will head to Big Ten Country to take on coach Matt Storniolo's Northwestern Wildcats. Without a doubt, not only the biggest match of this dual but arguably the biggest weekend match in college wrestling comes at 157 pounds when Northwestern's second-ranked Ryan Deakin takes on Old Dominion's third-ranked Larry Early.
Just days ago, Early handed 2018 NCAA runner-up Hayden Hidlay of North Carolina State his first-ever regular season loss after he compiled 24 straight regular-season victories.
Hidlay came into last weekend's matchup in Norfolk, Virginia as the second-ranked wrestler in the nation. This weekend, Ryan Deakin moved into the No.2 spot, meaning Early has the opportunity to knock off back-to-back second-ranked wrestlers in the country.
Though this will be the first time these two have met, it won't be the first time that either has faced a wrestler from the opposing team. Early owns a perfect 2-0 record against Wildcats, while Deakin won his lone match against a Monarch opponent.
Other ranked matches:
125: No. 2 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) vs. Michael McGee (ODU)
Saturday
UNI Open (10 a.m.)
The UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls will host one of the best open tournaments of the year, the UNI Open. Year in and year out loads of young talent are in attendance at the UNI Open, and they're expected to show up again this year. In addition to host UNI, the Iowa State Cyclones are also likely to bring their full team.
No. 15 Lehigh at No. 4 Iowa (8:30 p.m.)
Coach Tom Brands and the Iowa Hawkeyes, who escaped the No. 23 Iowa State Cyclones last weekend, 19-18, welcome their second straight top-25 opponent to Carver-Hawkeye Arena when the No. 15 Lehigh Mountain Hawks soar into Iowa City.
Both teams are coming off forgettable performances. The Hawks squeaked out a win over their in-state rivals, while the Mountain Hawks got blanked by No. 1 Penn State when they traveled to Happy Valley.
In addition to the duo of top-ranked wrestlers in Spencer Lee (125) and Sam Stoll (285), this dual could feature a quartet of top-20 matchups. However, both teams are battling injuries so it remains to be seen who competes.
At heavyweight, Lehigh's No. 6 Jordan Wood could take on his second straight top-five opponent when he wrestles the nation's top-ranked heavyweight, No. 1 Sam Stoll. Stoll made his emotional return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena last weekend after suffering a gunshot wound to the leg this summer. In his Carver-Hawkeye return, Stoll defeated Iowa State's Gannon Gremmel 5-2.
This dual is also scheduled to host a pair of No. 6 vs. No. 14 matchups.
At 184 pounds, Lehigh's sixth-ranked Ryan Preisch could lace up against No. 14 Cash Wilcke (Iowa), while No. 14 Jake Jacobsen (Lehigh) will take on sixth-ranked Jacob Warner (Iowa) at 197 pounds.
At 133 pounds, No. 9 Scott Parker (Lehigh) has not been competing, but could take the mat against No. 12 Austin DeSanto (Iowa).
Sunday
Oklahoma at No. 2 Oklahoma State (1:30 p.m.)
The second-ranked Cowboys welcome Coach Lou Rosselli and the Oklahoma Sooners to Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla. for the annual Bedlam contest.
The Cowboys have won the last eight meetings and scored over 30 points in the previous five meetings. The Sooners will be looking for their first overall Bedlam win since December 1, 2013, when they outlasted the Cowboys, 16-15. They'll also be looking for the first Bedlam win in Stillwater since 1995 when they beat the Cowboys, 19-18.
The Sooners will have to upset a Cowboy's roster that features ten ranked wrestlers if they hope to give coach Roselli his first Bedlam win since taking over the program three years ago.
Oklahoma will rely on No. 16 Dom Demas, who is coming off a 141-pound fourth-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, as he squares off against Oklahoma State's two-time All-American and sixth-ranked Kaid Brock.
Demas brings a 13-3 record into Stillwater, while Brock is 2-1 during his redshirt junior campaign.
Bedlam results since Oklahoma's last victory …
2017-18:
Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Stillwater), 31-6
2016-17:
Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Norman), 33-3
Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Stillwater), 37-3
2015-16:
Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Norman), 37-3
Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Stillwater), 26-11
2014-15:
Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Norman), 25-9
Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Stillwater), 25-11
2013-14:
Oklahoma df. Oklahoma State (in Norman), 16-15
Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Stillwater), 29-9
No. 10 Wisconsin at No. 3 Ohio State (4 p.m.)
Chris Bono and his 10th-ranked Badgers have matched Wisconsin's largest dual meet win streak since they won six straight during the 2014-15 season. They'll be looking for their seventh win when they travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on coach Tom Ryan and the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes have come out on top of two of the past three meetings, yet the Badgers will be looking for the first dual meet win over the Bucks since the 2013-14 season. Wisconsin was victorious 22-15 in that 2013-14 dual meet.
Ranked matchups:
149: No. 20 Cole Martin (Wisconsin) vs. No. 3 Micah Jordan (Ohio State)
174: No. 9 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) vs. No. 11 Te'Shan Campbell (Ohio State)
285: No. 8 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) vs. No. 17 Chase Singletary (Ohio State)
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