What Willie's Watching (12/7/2023)

Last week was the premier in-season college tournament. This week there’s the best in-season high school tournament. So while I’ll be at Ironman, I’ll also be keeping my eye on several key things going on at the DI level. 5. The Hangover CKLV was awesome, awesome, awesome. Nothing short of a mini NCAA’s. And several guys had out-of-this-world breakthroughs we couldn’t have imagined. But I PROMISE you some of those bubbles will be popped this weekend. The question is: whose? I’m on the lookout to see who will suffer a Vegas hangover and come back down to earth. 4. Pork Roll vs. Taylor Ham The battle of North Jersey vs. South Jersey as Princeton visits Rutgers. The Tigers graduated a bunch so Rutgers should probably win comfortably, but it’s a great dual in The Garden State between two programs on the rise. It should only gain more steam and fanfare going forward. Certainly, sign me up for Luke Stout vs. John Poznanski at 197. 3. Sneaky Good Head-to-Heads #11-Angelo Rini, Columbia vs. #9-Brody Teske, Iowa - Friday 8PM Why: Two Top 12 seniors here. Rini won Fargo after graduating from powerhouse St. Edward (OH). He’s coming off a win over Nic Bouzakis at the Clarion Open. Bouzakis was recently 3rd in Vegas. So for Teske, who has flirted with AA status in the past, a win here would take a little of the sting out of losing to Iowa State’s Evan Frost. As it turns out, Frost would go on to make the finals at CKLV, making the result not as disappointing as it may have initially been viewed. #15-Jore Volk, Wyoming vs. #16-Noah Surtin, Missouri - Friday 8PM Why: Two reasons. 1) 125 is wide open. Volk is coming off a 5th place showing in Vegas. Both guys are fringe podium contenders. 2) I’ve been saying all season that I’m watching the Missouri lightweights. If they can chip in some points, Mizzou can make a run at a team trophy. #14-Dylan Pitzer, Pitt vs. #18-Nick Feldman, Ohio State - Sunday Noon Why: We could be looking at the start of not only a new rivalry, but perhaps a preview of a future NCAA final. Of the 33 ranked heavyweights in the nation, 29 are Juniors or Seniors. Pitzer and Feldman are the only ranked Freshmen. #11-Garrett Thompson, Ohio vs. #27-Andrew Cerniglia, Navy - Sunday 2PM Why: Garrett Thompson has been on a roll. He beat All-American Peyton Hall earlier this year before taking 5th at CKLV. This is a guy who never even qualified for the state tournament in high school and who now is on the cusp of a Top 10 ranking. And he’s facing Cerniglia who was an absolute PA superstar - 2x State Champ and Ironman Champ. Cerniglia struggled his first couple of campaigns down at 157 but there’s hope he’s more himself up now that he’s not cutting as much. 2. They Call It Bedlam Princeton and Rutgers probably sit down for a nice bowl of fettuccine together after the dual. It’s a good in-state rivalry but it’s nothing like Oklahoma-Oklahoma State. There will be no breaking bread. The Cowboys needed late dramatics last year to win. With the dual tied at 15 in the last bout of the evening, Luke Surber pinned Keegan Moore. And the Sooners certainly don’t want to lose to their rivals in football and wrestling in the same season. WrestleStat has it as a 20-15 OKST win. But that’s a one-match flip from changing everything. 1. The Greatest Ever vs. The Hottest Name in Wrestling I might be setting myself (and y’all) up for disappointment. Daton Fix (@_Greatest_Ever1 on Twitter) is slated to face Ryan Crookham when Lehigh visits Gallagher Iba. So far this season Crookham has beaten NCAA Champ Vito Arujau and NCAA 5th placer Aaron Nagao. Whoever wins, is the unquestionable #1 in America. The problem is, Daton tweaked something just before the start of CKLV and had to scratch. Fingers crossed he’s healthy and we see this bout.

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What Willie's Watching (12/7/2023)

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