Hope everyone is staying warm as the NCAA college wrestling dual meet season heats up! 

Box Scores | Rankings | Last Week's Roundup

We've exited tournament season and entered dual meet season. And just like the arctic blast that has come barreling down the center of the North American continent, endangering our travel and freezing our delicious beverages, the NCAA D1 dual meet season has been unleashed and it isn't hitting the brakes until March. 

And while we would never think of stopping, let alone applying the brakes, to the unstoppable rebel force that is dual meet season, we can take some time to fulfill this blog's raison d'etre and observe and report the noteworthy happenings of week 11 of the 2023-24 NCAA D1 college wrestling season. 

The Dual of the Century of the Week

Lehigh vs Cornell: Loser Leaves the Conference

While we won't go off on another screed about how regular season dual meet results should factor into the national championship process, we will point out that this dual would be Exhibit A if we were to indulge in a lengthy diatribe on the topic. 

But for real, this dual had everything.

Lehigh and Cornell have been EIWA rivals for over 100 years. The conference itself was founded in 1905. Cornell joined in 1908, Lehigh in 1913. The two programs have won the last 22 EIWA championships. Lehigh has the most team titles in history with 38, Cornell has the second most with 27. 

Next season, Cornell, and the five other Ivy League programs that sponsor wrestling, are leaving the EIWA and will compete in the first-ever NCAA-qualifying Ivy League Championship Tournament, making this the last dual between these programs as EIWA rivals. 

Cornell was without Vito Arujau, so we didn't get a rematch of the 61kg freestyle world champ against the Mountain Hawk freshman phenom Ryan Crookham, but each team did start seven ranked wrestlers for one of the most stacked duals of the week. 

The meet started at 133 and as you can see from the box score below, the aforementioned Crookham staked Lehigh to a five-point lead before the Big Red peeled off four straight wins of their own. 

• 133: #1 Ryan Crookham (LEH) over Ethan Qureshi (COR) (TF 19-4 4:32) 
• 141: #10 Vince Cornella (COR) over #13 Malyke Hines (LEH) (Dec 5-1) 
• 149: Ethan Fernandez (COR) over Kelvin Griffin (LEH) (Dec 6-3) 
• 157: #13 Meyer Shapiro (COR) over #25 Max Brignola (LEH) (Dec 8-2) 
• 165: #4 Julian Ramirez (COR) over #27 Jake Logan (LEH) (MD 11-3) 
• 174: Connor Herceg (LEH) over Benny Baker (COR) (Dec 10-4) 
• 184: #7 Chris Foca (COR) over Jack Wilt (LEH) (Dec 16-9) 
• 197: #10 Michael Beard (LEH) over #8 Jacob Cardenas (COR) (Dec 10-3) 
• 285: #11 Nathan Taylor (LEH) over #20 Lewis Fernandes (COR) (Dec 6-2)
• 125: #6 Luke Stanich (LEH) over #14 Brett Ungar (COR) (Dec 3-0)
• FINAL: Lehigh 17, Cornell 16

The Brown and White would win four of the next five, including the final three bouts, which were all between top 20 wrestlers, to complete the incredible comeback.

It's not often you see a 125er clinch a dual...

True freshman Luke Stanich wins to clinch the dual for Lehigh over Cornell, 17-16.

An incredible dual and the Snake Pit is LOUD pic.twitter.com/Lkx7v5ngxc

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) January 13, 2024

But that's exactly what a sell-out crowd of 1,944 fans got to enjoy in Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall (aka the Snakepit). At least, the non-Cornell fans anyway. 

The real beauty of this dual meet wasn't just the heroics of Lehigh's Stanich or All-American Michael Beard, but also in unranked Jack Wilt fighting off his back to avoid getting pinned by #7 Chris Foca and then battling back to keep things to a decision. It was also in Connor Herceg bumping up to wrestle his first match of the year at 174 and getting the win. It was also in Jake Logan and Max Brignola keeping their matches closer than you'd expect on paper and giving up a major and a regular decision, respectively. 

In short, it was a team win. One that Mountain Hawks will remember as the time they gave their Big Red rivals one final EIWA send-off. 

Lastly, you can watch more interviews and behind-the-scenes videos here. And where else will you learn that Man of the Match Luke Stanich's favorite restaurant is McDonald's? 

The Highest Ranked Dual Meet of the Week

#3 Nebraska hosted #2 Iowa in the Devaney Center

The dual we all had circled as the Dual of the Week was the massive Big Ten matchup on Friday night in Lincoln. 

Both teams were undefeated and ranked in the top three according to our NCAA Dual Rankings. 14 ranked wrestlers would toe the line in this matchup. The box score is below. 

• 125: #9 Drake Ayala (IOWA) over #5 Caleb Smith (NEB) (Dec 7-3) 
• 133: #32 Jacob Van Dee (NEB) over #9 Brody Teske (IOWA) (Dec 10-4) 
• 141: #1 Real Woods (IOWA) over #8 Brock Hardy (NEB) (Dec 8-2) 
• 149: #1 Ridge Lovett (NEB) over #14 Caleb Rathjen (IOWA) (Dec 6-0) 
• 157: #2 Jared Franek (IOWA) over #3 Peyton Robb (NEB) (Dec 5-4) 
• 165: #7 Mike Caliendo (IOWA) over #16 Antrell Taylor (NEB) (Dec 8-3) 
• 174: Patrick Kennedy (IOWA) over #19 Bubba Wilson (NEB) (Dec 9-5) 
• 184: #3 Lenny Pinto (NEB) over Aiden Riggins (IOWA) (MD 17-5) 
• 197: #25 Zach Glazier (IOWA) over #13 Silas Allred (NEB) (MD 11-2) 
• 285: Bradley Hill (IOWA) over Nash Hutmacher (NEB) (Dec 4-1)
• FINAL: Iowa 22, Nebraska 10

But as you can see, the dual was not so dramatic, at least from the perspective of the team score. 

Notable results from this dual:

• Who knows what's going to happen at 125 going forward, but #9 Drake Ayala is a one-point loss to #16 Brandon Kaylor away from being undefeated and the likely #1 next Tuesday after his win over #5 Caleb Smith. 
• Van Dee got the Husker fans' hopes up with his upset over #9 Teske, but that would be the best result of the evening for Nebraska. 
• Woods and Lovett got dominant ranked wins to show why they are #1 in their respective weights.  
• The most meaningful matchup was at 157, where #2 Franek silenced the doubters and defeated #3 Robb with a clutch takedown and rideout. Franek is scheduled to see #1 Levi Haines on Feb 9. 
• The undefeated Zach Glazier just majored a bloodrounder from 2023 and took AJ Ferrari to sudden victory in a match he eventually won by disqualification (don't worry, that's all we'll say about that particular match). Point being, maybe now we'll, 'estimate' Zach Glazier? 
• We only got to see one of the footballers at heavyweight, as Ben Kueter did not make his Hawkeye ebut, however Bradley Hill was not sweating the hype around Nash Hutmacher, aka the Polar Bear, as Hill got a late takedown to win and complete Iowa's drubbing of Nebraska

Last night was fun #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/vQ0r4oz7nR

— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) January 13, 2024

Although the weekend didn't turn out the way he wanted, Peyton Robb was recently on the Bader Show for some show and tell about his leg surgery necessitated by the serious infection he got at last year's NCAA Championship. Please be advised, the 'show' part gets very graphic. There's a warning on this video for a reason!

Just incredible that Robb is able to walk, let alone compete with the best college wrestlers in the nation.

The Best Dual We Didn't Get To See This Week

Inclement weather forced Iowa State and Pittsburgh to cancel a Sunday dual meet in Ames, Iowa. No one wants to see dual meets canceled but the safety of the teams and their fans and everyone that helps make those duals happen is paramount. 

When an NFL playoff game gets postponed, you know we're dealing with a serious arctic blast. 

Another Dual We Weren't Going to See Until UNI Pulled Off the Grittiest Stunt of the Year

Panther head coach Doug Schwab may be the living embodiment of grit, and he, along with his team and staff, decided that if they couldn't host Utah Valley in Cedar Falls, then they'd go to Ames, where Utah Valley still was after their dual with Iowa State the day before, to wrestle the Wolverines don't he Cyclones' campus. 

It was a heartwarming tale on a frigid Saturday as a wrestling village came together to make it happen. 

Big shoutout to @CYWrestle_KD and @cyclonewr for allowing us to use their facility for our meet last night. Thank you for the being so accommodating to our guys, you helped us find a way. We were all grateful for the opportunity to compete. See you Feb 11th. pic.twitter.com/7brAjoOfkC

— Doug Schwab (@schwabwrestling) January 14, 2024

UNI defeated Utah Valley 32-6 and every wrestling grinch's heart grew three sizes that day. 

125 Pounds: Please Stop

Just stop it, we're tired. 

As if 125 couldn’t get any more CRAZY 🤯 #29 Diego Sotelo of Harvard just beat #1 Anthony Noto 10-8 pic.twitter.com/GKDaeh7WAD

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) January 11, 2024

‼️UPSET‼️

Griff upsets #11 Steve Poulin by decision 7-4.😤👀👀

Light Work. 😮‍💨@FloWrestling @NCAAWrestling #LanceUp⚔️ pic.twitter.com/W1RSDNvSZN

— California Baptist Wrestling (@CBUwrestling) January 13, 2024

Also, #10 Surtin beat #4 Provo; #9 Ayala beat #5 Smith; and unranked Molton beat #28 Maida. 

Enough already. 

Other Stuff Happened

For Example, a Bunch of Big Ten Duals

• Michigan thumped Maryland. 
  • Dylan Ragusin is back off redshirt at 133 for the Wolverines. He beat #16 Braxton Brown.
• Rutgers handled Indiana.
  • All the higher ranked wrestlers held serve except at 174, where Rutgers' #23 Jackson Turley 15-0 teched #9 DJ Washington.
• Iowa beat Nebraska. 
  • Already covered, see above.
• Ohio State ran roughshod over Illinois.
  • It wasn't all bad news for Illinois, as true freshman Kannon Webster, who can still keep his redshirt, defeated #5 Dylan D'Emilio 4-1. 
  • Additionally, #6 Edmund Ruth beat Buckeye true frosh Rocco Welsh, who can also still keep his redshirt. 
  • Will either freshman phenom be starting this postseason? We'll find out soon enough!
• Maryland overpowered Northwestern.
  • Coach Alex Clemsen's Terrapins keep making gains, especially Michael North, who pinned #17 Trevor Chumbley at 157. Also shout out to this guy. 
• Michigan beat Michigan State to win the battle for the Golden Oven Mitt.
  • That's a trophy I made up. 
  • DeAugustino made his second start since CKLV, also his second win, which is good news for Wolverine fans.
  • The good news for Spartan fans was #12 Caleb Fish beating #5 Cam Amine at 165. 
• Penn State blanked Indiana.
  • True freshmen Braeden Davis and Tyler Kasak look ready to step up and be the guys at 125 and 149. #17 Kasak's defeat of #22 Graham Rooks will solidify his ranking. 
• Rutgers bested Purdue.
  • The Scarlet Knights went 2-0 on the weekend.
  • All the Rutgers ranked wrestlers won except #19 Dean Peterson, who lost to #2 Matt Ramos, in a 125lb bout that notably wasn't an upset.

Oklahoma State Won Two Duals by Large Margins

• The Cowboys dispatched Pitt and West Virginia, winning 15 of 20 individual matches this weekend. 
• Sammy Alvarez got both starts for Oklahoma State at 149, beating #20 Finn Solomon of Pitt but losing to #10 Ty Watters of West Virginia.
• Mountaineer #11 Peyton Hall also got a big win over #3 Izzak Olejnik, handing the Cowboy his first loss of the season and making a mess of the 165-pound rankings. 
• #12 Konner Doucet's victory over Pitt's #9 Dayton Pitzer will make for an interesting conundrum for the rankers at 285, as Pitzer beat #11 Nathan Taylor, and Taylor beat Doucet. 

There Were Duals in Virginia

Specifically inside the Hampton Coliseum as the Virginia Duals have been bringing the best high school and college wrestling to the Commonwealth for the past 43 years!

• Where usually a bracketed dual tournament is held, this year there was a series of six dual meets. 
• Wisconsin and South Dakota State each won two duals, although they did not compete against each other. 
• Wisconsin's victory over Oklahoma was the most scintillating competition of the evening, with #15 Joey Zargo's 2-1 victory over #16 Willie McDougald being a pivotal victory for the Badgers. 

There Were Duals in Davidson

Davidson College hosted a bunch of teams that wrestled 13 different duals over two days.

• Little Rock had the most impressive performance, going 4-0 and beating Lock Haven, who won the last two MAC championships, 40-11. Little Rock is 9-4 on the season and is almost definitely going to finish the season with a winning record. 
• Little Rock? More like Big Rock. 

Some Other Notable Upsets

We'll recount them all tomorrow in the official upsets of week 11 article, but of note: 

• Noah Surtin, Zeke Seltzer, Logan Gioffre, and Brock Mauller all registered upsets when Missouri blanked Stanford on Wednesday. 
• Princeton's Eligh Rivera beat #28 Quinn Kinner of Rider to help nudge the Tigers over the Broncs 20-19.
• Lehigh's Michael Beard had two top 10 wins this weekend, over #7 Lou DePrez of Binghamton and #8 Jacob Cardenas of Cornell. 
• Penn didn't have any upsets in their win over North Carolina but their 26-10 victory over the Tar Heels seems unexpected enough to warrant a mention.
• Harvard registered an upset at 184, as unranked Leo Tarantino defeated #20 Gavin Kane to hand UNC their second loss of the weekend. 
• Wisconsin's #16 Max Maylor defeated Virginia #10 Justin McCoy, likely knocking the Cavaliers only wrestler out of the top 10.
• Utah Valley salvaged a win at 197 in their dual against UNI at ISU when #25 Evan Bockman beat #19 Wyatt Voelker.
• Cal Poly's Dom Mendez beat #33 Tucker Ownes of Air Force at 125. Didn't want to leave any 125lb upset go unmentioned, no matter how minor. 

In Non NCAA D1 News

The Olympic Styles Were Wrestled in Croatia

Team USA sent a very large contingent to Europe to compete in the Zagreb Open. American men and women won a total of 13 medals, including two golds. 

Notably, NC State Wolfpacker Isaac Trumble, who is taking an Olympic redshirt and has two years of NCAA eligibility left, earned a bronze medal, then later found another bronze medal from the Zagreb Open inside the burger in a Raleigh restaurant. What are the odds of that? 

Look what I found in my burger @MoJoesBurgers !! "Satisfy your burger cravings with a dash of Mojo's perfection in the heart of downtown Raleigh. Unleash the flavor! pic.twitter.com/8ka7FCqAdO

— Isaac Trumble (@isaactrumble_) January 14, 2024

Collegiate Women Also Technically Wrestled an Olympic Style Though They're Obviously Still in College

There was a lot going on two weeks ago at the NWCA National Duals. I was remiss in not linking to this excellent recap from my colleagues Andy Hamilton and Kyle Klingman, please please allow me to rectify that error now. 

Two-week-old spoiler alert: there's good news in that link if you're an Iowa Hawkeye fan. 

Shameless Plug For FloWrestling Original Videos

One thing you often hear from the wrestling community is that they want the sport to be more accessible in order to draw in more new fans to the world's oldest and raddest sport. And we here at FloSports couldn't agree more! 

That's why we've been putting more and more of our best content on YouTube, so that you diehards reading this (free) blog can share those videos with your friends and family, all for free!

About two weeks ago, the Virginia Tech Hokies wrestled the Missouri Tigers at Missoui. The dual meet kicked ass, I have proof:

Did I mention you can watch the whole thing for free? Show it to your friends why don't you?

Send Me Tips!

This roundup is for you, so if you see something noteworthy happen in D1 NCAA wrestling, let me know so that I can make note of it! 

Best way to reach me is on Twitter (@speywrestle) or email [andrew.spey@flosports.tv].

Next week? That's correct, more duals! Hopefully less arctic blasts. Thanks for reading, wise and learned wrestling fans, enjoy your MLK Day!