FanOfPurdueWrestling Posted February 18 Posted February 18 I’ve been considering making this thread. Obviously most people here are here to talk about D1 wrestling at the highest level, but there are hundreds of programs outside of D1 that have talent, resources, great coaching, passion, etc. Does anyone here follow other divisions? I wanted to start this thread to see if there are good resources for following it and supporting it. Additionally there are guys from non-D1 schools that go on and wrestle post collegiately to make world teams. Tervel Dlagnev & Daniel DeShazer come to mind. This is an open topic, I have nothing to add other than they deserve support and recognition as well. 3 I am very active on X: https://x.com/WrestlingSNL
blueandgold Posted February 18 Posted February 18 I follow D2 and D3 pretty closely. D3 seems to have guys make national and world teams a bit more frequently than D2. Nazar Kulchytskyy, Riley Lefever, and Joe Rau immediately come to mind as names in recent years. NAIA also had Brandon Wright in the mix a few years ago. Overall, I believe the level of wrestling has risen in those divisions and they’re equally exciting to watch. 1
d3wrestle.com Posted February 18 Posted February 18 44 minutes ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said: Does anyone here follow other divisions? I wanted to start this thread to see if there are good resources for following it and supporting it. www.d3wrestle.com has your DIII coverage. WrestleStat also has a DIII section (and DII). 2
Rassling Posted February 18 Posted February 18 55 minutes ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said: I’ve been considering making this thread. Obviously most people here are here to talk about D1 wrestling at the highest level, but there are hundreds of programs outside of D1 that have talent, resources, great coaching, passion, etc. Does anyone here follow other divisions? I wanted to start this thread to see if there are good resources for following it and supporting it. Additionally there are guys from non-D1 schools that go on and wrestle post collegiately to make world teams. Tervel Dlagnev & Daniel DeShazer come to mind. This is an open topic, I have nothing to add other than they deserve support and recognition as well. A man of action! 1
Rassling Posted February 18 Posted February 18 12 minutes ago, d3wrestle.com said: www.d3wrestle.com has your DIII coverage. WrestleStat also has a DIII section (and DII). That’s great D3 but he suggested some examples of talent, great coaching, etc. It would be great to see some exciting videos of course! 1
Rassling Posted February 18 Posted February 18 2 minutes ago, Yellow_Medal said: Same here How about expanding on your experience during the week when things are typically slow. I know Id enjoy reading about it! 1
FanOfPurdueWrestling Posted February 18 Author Posted February 18 30 minutes ago, Idaho said: I follow NJCAA I was thinking, who are some people that are a product of JUCO at big schools? It seems the route for a lot of football and basketball kids without the grades. I believe Cormier started at a Juco(?) and I know Jon Jones won a NJCAA title. any others in recent history? I am very active on X: https://x.com/WrestlingSNL
FanOfPurdueWrestling Posted February 18 Author Posted February 18 22 minutes ago, Yellow_Medal said: Same here Start some threads about JUCO guys that could be impactful in a D1 lineup in the future! Spread the good word! I am very active on X: https://x.com/WrestlingSNL
FanOfPurdueWrestling Posted February 18 Author Posted February 18 40 minutes ago, d3wrestle.com said: www.d3wrestle.com has your DIII coverage. WrestleStat also has a DIII section (and DII). Oddly enough Joe Pins is 3rd in d3 dominance rankings, but for his absurd number of tech falls not pins. 2 I am very active on X: https://x.com/WrestlingSNL
Idaho Posted February 19 Posted February 19 4 hours ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said: I was thinking, who are some people that are a product of JUCO at big schools? It seems the route for a lot of football and basketball kids without the grades. I believe Cormier started at a Juco(?) and I know Jon Jones won a NJCAA title. any others in recent history? Just off the top of my head for this season there are several starters that came from the JUCO ranks... McDermott, Crosby, Strickenberger, Morton (D2), Ricks, Spangler. More distant Joe Colon, Deron Winn, Covington, Jones, Lesnar come to mind. 3 Sponsored by INTERMAT
TexRef Posted February 19 Posted February 19 7 hours ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said: I was thinking, who are some people that are a product of JUCO at big schools? It seems the route for a lot of football and basketball kids without the grades. I believe Cormier started at a Juco(?) and I know Jon Jones won a NJCAA title. any others in recent history? This is isn't recent history, but Rulon Gardner and TJ Williams both went to a JUCO. 1
1032004 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 I wrestled D3, but I don’t really follow it. We’ve had the discussion about D2/D3 guys competing at D1 NCAA’s before, and I’d guess there might be 1 or 2 guys total across D2/D3 that might place low AA each year, but that’s about it. I do still wish they let the D2 and D3 champs into NCAA’s though… I think part of the reason for that is the eligibility clock though. Someone earlier mentioned Shawn Streck. I don’t believe he would still be eligible in D1 1
moodybooty Posted February 19 Posted February 19 You get a lot more interesting stories at the club and NAIA level. As a young adult, you have a lot more things to think about than a sport; kids to feed, dreams to pursue, families to uplift.. D1 doesn’t allow much grace for that. I really do wish there was more holistic coverage in wrestling. We have space for it as a fringe sport. Would love to hear more about the guys that can’t necessarily live the sheltered lifestyle of a full time career, but still get after it. 3
jchapman Posted February 19 Posted February 19 1 hour ago, 1032004 said: I wrestled D3, but I don’t really follow it. We’ve had the discussion about D2/D3 guys competing at D1 NCAA’s before, and I’d guess there might be 1 or 2 guys total across D2/D3 that might place low AA each year, but that’s about it. I do still wish they let the D2 and D3 champs into NCAA’s though… I think part of the reason for that is the eligibility clock though. Someone earlier mentioned Shawn Streck. I don’t believe he would still be eligible in D1 Leigel from Wisconsin is a grad transfer from D3, was 3,1,2 at D3 tournament. He's been ranked in the teens most of the second half of this season. Obviously he has the benefit of being in a B1G room this season, but this will give a glimpse on how a D3 stud might fair in D1. 4 Craig Henning got screwed in the 2007 NCAA Finals.
TexRef Posted February 19 Posted February 19 (edited) 2 hours ago, 1032004 said: I wrestled D3, but I don’t really follow it. We’ve had the discussion about D2/D3 guys competing at D1 NCAA’s before, and I’d guess there might be 1 or 2 guys total across D2/D3 that might place low AA each year, but that’s about it. I do still wish they let the D2 and D3 champs into NCAA’s though… I think part of the reason for that is the eligibility clock though. Someone earlier mentioned Shawn Streck. I don’t believe he would still be eligible in D1 I am a proponent of the top 3 D2/D3/NAIA guys being allowed to go the D1 natys, but now I think they would get lured away to a bigger school with NIL money. Edited February 19 by TexRef . 2
KLCarnegieTech_1969 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 I follow D2. My son was a D2 All-American at Pitt Johnstown. What a great experience. The D3 Finals are wild. A lot of crowd involvement. Kind of like a British soccer match. I think this is a great idea. 3
Rassling Posted February 19 Posted February 19 2 hours ago, 1032004 said: do still wish they let the D2 and D3 champs into NCAA’s though… Wouldn’t that be great! 1
Idaho Posted February 19 Posted February 19 Are 1990's JUCO programs at the same level as current D1 programs academically? Seems much easier to be a D1 wrestler from an academic standpoint. 1 Sponsored by INTERMAT
1032004 Posted February 19 Posted February 19 2 hours ago, jchapman said: Leigel from Wisconsin is a grad transfer from D3, was 3,1,2 at D3 tournament. He's been ranked in the teens most of the second half of this season. Obviously he has the benefit of being in a B1G room this season, but this will give a glimpse on how a D3 stud might fair in D1. Agree. I think most of the champs could likely win 1-3 matches at NCAA’s (still an impressive feat of course), but an AA would be rare. 1
GreenandGold Posted February 19 Posted February 19 4 hours ago, 1032004 said: I think part of the reason for that is the eligibility clock though. Someone earlier mentioned Shawn Streck. I don’t believe he would still be eligible in D1 That is part of it, the other part is academic eligibility (minimum gpa) is different at each level.
jchapman Posted February 19 Posted February 19 1 hour ago, GreenandGold said: That is part of it, the other part is academic eligibility (minimum gpa) is different at each level. The joke used to be that NAIA stood for No Academic Investigations Allowed. 1 Craig Henning got screwed in the 2007 NCAA Finals.
FanOfPurdueWrestling Posted February 19 Author Posted February 19 16 hours ago, BIGTENFANBOY said: I follow Cayden Henschel on youtube. Lol I listen to his podcast actually! I am very active on X: https://x.com/WrestlingSNL
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