Biggest Stories In College Wrestling

Biggest Stories In College Wrestling

Before we dive into the NCAA postseason, where things tend to get crazy, let's take a look back at some of the biggest moments and stories from the 2016-17 college wrestling season.

Mar 2, 2017 by Mark Bader
Biggest Stories In College Wrestling
Live On Flo This Week: March 3-4: EIWA Championships | March 4-5: Big 12 Championships | March 4-5: PJW Junior High State Championships

It seems hard to believe, but another regular season of college wrestling has come and gone. All that is left are the conference tournaments followed by the NCAA Championships coming up in St. Louis on March 16-18. The season seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.

Before we dive into the postseason, where things tend to get crazy, let's take a look back at some of the biggest moments and stories from the 2016-17 college wrestling season.

Zahid Valencia

He has been successful at the national level ever since he was a small boy. The Arizona State redshirt freshman ran the table during the regular season and captured a Pac-12 title at 174lbs. We knew Zahid Valencia was going to be tough; I'm just not sure we anticipated him entering the NCAA Championships with an unblemished record. Can he go to St. Louis and win it all, giving himself the opportunity to try and become the second-ever four-time undefeated NCAA  champion?




Kemerer vs. Berger At Midlands

Iowa freshman Michael Kemmerer and Nebraska sophomore Tyler Berger met in the Midlands finals in what became an extremely memorable match for multiple reasons. The match itself was highly entertaining -- and a little controversial. Kemerer won in overtime, though there were some questionable non-called takedowns. On top of that, Berger got pretty fired up toward the Iowa coaching staff, who, as it appeared, were taunting him.

Berger took to social media in anticipation of their dual meet and called Kemerer a "marked man." Kemerer won a close match in the dual meet, which sets up a much anticipated possible meeting in Big Ten finals on Sunday.



Mark Hall

On the heels of winning a Junior World Championship, fan favorite Mark Hall was one of the hottest college prospects in a while and had plans of redshirting his first year at Penn State. Early on in the season, he suffered a loss to Christian Brucki of Central Michigan at the Michigan State Open, which had people debating whether or not he was ready to be a title contender. A month and a half later, he answered that question by winning the Southern Scuffle. His redshirt was indeed pulled a couple weeks later against Iowa's Alex Meyer. While Meyer won that match, Hall has not looked back since and enters this weekend's Big Ten tournament ranked No. 4 in the nation.

Kevin Dresser To Iowa State

In 10 years at Virginia Tech, Kevin Dresser proved his worth after taking over a struggling program. In each of the last five years, Dresser's teams have finished in the top 11 at the NCAA Championships, including a fourth-place finish last year. Not only was it the Hokies highest-ever finish, but it was also the first wrestling trophy for any team in the ACC. It was announced recently that Dresser will become the new head coach at Iowa State following the NCAA Championships, and he already has some talented recruits on the way.

The Iowa State wrestling program has a tradition of greatness but has not seen its familiar level of success in the last 10 years. One cannot help but think Dresser will help guide the Cyclones back to their winning tracks. Dresser took the job at Iowa State while his Virginia Tech team was ramping up for the postseason and will spend this NCAA Championships as a fan.

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Gilman's Comeback Over Lizak

Love him or hate him, Thomas Gilman has become one of the most polarizing figures in college wrestling. His mean-spirited emotional approach and mental warfare have gotten him as much attention as his undefeated record. The 125-pound Iowa senior regularly runs into the opposing teams huddles during the introductions instead of meeting his opponent in the middle to shake hands.

Minnesota's team wouldn't let him in its huddle in their dual meet on Feb. 5 and forced Gilman to shake Ethan Lizak's hand in the center of the mat. Lizak went on to start out the match with an 8-0 lead and nearly four minutes of riding time late in the second period. Gilman then performed a classic Hawkeye comeback, and his pressure was eventually too much as he pinned Lizak in the third after collecting several takedowns.



Undefeated At Every Weight

I'm not sure the last time we had at least one undefeated wrestler at each weight after the conclusion of the regular season, but this year we do. Thomas Gilman, Nathan Tomasello, Dean Heil, Zain Retherford, Jason Nolf, Isaiah Martinez, Zahid Valencia, Gabe Dean, Bo Nickal, J'den Cox, Connor Medbery, and Kyle Snyder all ended the regular season without surrendering a loss. How many will head to St. Louis that way and could we see 10 undefeated NCAA Champions this year?

Arena Rock

The trend of wrestling matches garnering large attendances is great for the sport. Iowa has been packing in large crowds for years, and the Hawkeyes did it once again on Jan. 20 against Penn State in Carver Hawkeye Arena. Penn State has drawn huge crowds at home as well, including when it hosted in-state rival Lehigh at the Bryce Jordan Center back in December. Oklahoma State broke an all-time attendance record at Gallagher-Iba when the Cowboys packed 14,059 into the over-sold arena for their dual against Penn State on Feb. 19. And joining the arena movement this year was Ohio State. The Buckeyes hosted Penn State at their basketball arena, the Schottenstein Center, on Feb. 3 in front of 15,338. We only hope to see this trend continue with more teams packing their big arenas (and football stadiums) on campuses.



The college wrestling season is full of ups and downs and dramatic moments. That will only continue and intensify as we near the Super Bowl of college wrestling when the NCAA Championships take place in St. Louis in two weeks.

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