D1 Stock Market Report: Journeymen Jumble

Whose stock is up and whose is down after the second week of NCAA D1 wrestling?

Nov 14, 2018 by Andrew Spey

D1 Stock Market Report: Journeymen Jumble

The second week of NCAA wrestling in the books, which means yet another fresh batch of results with which to update our rankings. The season is still in its infancy with a lot of wrestling and movement on the horizon, so expectations and interpretations should be tempered accordingly. Additionally, many talented wrestlers, both young and experienced, are rocking a redshirt, keeping them out of the rankings, for now.

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Most of the movement in the rankings this week emanated from the New York State Capital Region, where Journeymen Wrestling hosted not one but two major events over the weekend, the Northeast Duals and the Collegiate Classic. Join us, as we examine the Journeymen fall out and check out the biggest Week 2 movers.

2018-19 NCAA Rankings

Stock Up

141 lbs Dom Demas, Oklahoma

Unranked to #15

Dangerous Dom went off at the Collegiate Classic in Troy, New York. Demas beat three NCAA qualifiers including Nate Limmex in one of the most electric 90 seconds in college wrestling so far this year. Demas does have one loss on the year, to Michigan's Ben Freeman, but a performance like Dom just had can be worth a lot this early in the season.

Apologies to Nate for featuring this match yet again, but if you haven't seen it yet you really need to watch Demas here at the Collegiate Classic:

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165 lbs Ebed Jarrell, Drexel

Unranked to #17

Jarrell will attempt to become the first Rhode Island native to qualify for the NCAAs since the University of Maryland's Corey Peltier in 2011. The Drexel junior took a big step in accomplishing that goal with three big wins at the Northeast Duals, including a 6-3 decision over bloodround finisher and #11-ranked Isaiah White of Nebraska. Jarrell remains undefeated on the season and joins his teammates Stephen Loiseau (#11 at 197) and Joey Goodhart (#18 at 285) in the rankings.

Watch Jarrell get the biggest win of his career over Isaiah White:

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184 lbs Nick Reenan, North Carolina State

#9 to #6

Nick Reenan started the season at #9 based on the strength of his redshirt season, not because he made Final X, as freestyle results are not factored into NCAA rankings, although Reenan did make Final X, which is impressive. Another impressive feat Reenan accomplished that does factor into our rankings was defeating Lehigh's Ryan Preisch at the Collegiate Classic. Preisch was ranked sixth at the time and earned the #3 and #6 seeds in his last two trips to the NCAA tournament. Now off redshirt and up a weight class from his true freshman season, Reenan is making the transition from NC State's last 184-pounder, All-American Pete Renda, a smooth one for Wolfpack head coach Pat Popolizio.

Watch Reenan's victory over Preisch at the Collegiate Classic:

197 lbs Rocco Caywood, Army West Point

Unranked to #13

Caywood is "exhibit A" for showing just how volatile a weight class can be, especially early in the season. A bubble guy for most of last year, Caywood spent exactly one week in the top 20. The Black Knight qualified for the NCAAs as a junior last season and went 1-2 in Cleveland. 197 is wide open at the moment, and Caywood zooms up the top 20 with a win over round of 12 finisher Chris Weiler of Lehigh against a single loss to so far in the season to #7 Pat Brucki. Whether he'll be able to remain a permanent fixture in the rankings remains to be seen.

Watch Caywood's victory over bloodround finisher Chris Weiler at the Collegiate Classic:

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Stock Down

125 lbs Drew Mattin, Michigan

#13 to #16

Mattin is suffering from a reversal of fortune compared to how his season started last year. Mattin blew up at the 2017 CKLV as a true freshman, beating two All-Americans and upping his ranking all the way to career-best #11. Mattin already has two losses to wrestlers he beat at last year's CKLV, specifically Michigan State's Rayvon Foley and Central Michigan's Drew Hildebrandt. Another CKLV is looming at the end of this month, and a quality performance there by Mattin will go a long way in helping him climb back up the rankings.

133 lbs Sean Nickell, CSU Bakersfield

#13 to #19

Nickell has been to the NCAAs twice already but is still looking for his first top-eight finish. The Bakersfield native will have his work cut out for him, as 133 pounds is a brutal weight class and getting tougher all the time. Pitt's Micky Phillippi proved he will be yet another name to contend with this season, stopping Nickell 7-4 in a dual meet over the weekend, sending Nickell down towards the bottom of this jam-packed top 20.

157 lbs John Van Brill, Rutgers

#9 to #19

John Van Brill is having trouble regaining the form that saw him advance to the blooround last March in Cleveland. The Scarlet Knight senior lost to two unranked opponents at the Northeast Duals: Angel Najar of Appalachian State and Grant LaMont of Utah Valley. Both Najar and LaMont are as tough and salty as they come, but Van Brill will have to step it up if he wants to make another run at the podium in his final campaign.

174 lbs Dylan Lydy, Purdue

#10 to #14

Lydy was a fixture in the middle of the top 20 rankings for the entire second half of last season. The sophomore Boilermaker advanced to the round of 12 at the 2018 NCAAs, losing only to Mark Hall and Jordan Kutler during his time in Cleveland. Lydy's loss to Wyoming's talented redshirt freshman Hayden Hastings caused Lydy to slip down the rankings. March of 2019 is still a very long way away, however, so Lydy's slide to #14 should not discourage his All-American aspirations.

285 lbs Thomas Haines, Lock Haven

#9 to #14

Thomas Haines certainly has the talent to make the award stand in March. The Lock Haven senior has two wins in each of his two trips to the NCAAs. Haines took a small step back in the rankings, however, with a loss to Utah Valley's Tate Orndorff at the Collegiate Classic. Time will tell just how big of a speed bump that match was, as both Haines and Orndorff are contenders to All-American in a wide open 285-pound weight class.

You Make the Call

Josh Shields, Arizona State

#3 at 157 to #8 at 165

With Josh Sheilds getting the start at 165-pounds for the Sun Devils in their dual meet with South Dakota State last Sunday, it would appear that the Anthony Valencia will take a redshirt this season, and that Josh Sheilds will bump up from 157, the weight at which he finished seventh last season. This adds yet another All-American to an already stack weight class. The move knocked Sheilds down from #3 to #8. Are you buying that 165 is that much tougher than 157? Or is the drop in rankings unjustified in your opinion? That's what we're asking, you tell us!