The past week of college wrestling provided some of the biggest news and upsets of the 2021-2022 Division 1 season. Take a look below at a breakdown of some of the biggest stories in the past week of college wrestling.

Ayala And Kemerer Suit Up For Iowa

After Spencer Lee announced his surgery last week, it was only a matter of time before Drake Ayala would take the mat in a Hawkeye singlet. We didn’t have to wait long as Ayala’s redshirt was pulled on Friday night when wrestled in Carver-Hawkeye Arena against Minnesota’s #5 Patrick McKee. This was the third time Ayala and McKee faced off this season and, like the other two matches, Ayala got out to an early lead before McKee stormed back for an 8-6 win. Despite the loss to McKee, Ayala bounced back strong on Sunday with a controlling, 6-1 win over #9 Devin Schroder. Only a true freshman, Ayala will continue to improve throughout the season and will absolutely be an All-American threat come March.

Ayala’s entrance into the lineup may have been the biggest story for Hawkeye fans, but Michael Kemerer’s return to the action was a close second. Kememer scored wins over both Bailee O’Reilly (9-2) and #19 Gerrit Nijenhuis (17-1) over the weekend and looked as good as ever in the process. The Hawkeyes will need Kemerer at his peak if they hope to repeat as National Champions this season. 

Hear from Drake Ayala after his win over Devin Schroder:

Quick comments from Drake Ayala... pic.twitter.com/AYZU8s22N7

— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) January 9, 2022

Hildebrandt And Berge Big Additions For Penn State

Drew Hildebrandt made his Penn State debut in dominant fashion Friday night against Maryland with a pin over Zach Spence. He followed that up with a 6-2 decision on Sunday over Indiana’s Jacob Moran. Hildebrandt, an All-American for Central Michigan last season, is a much-needed answer for Penn State at 125. Penn State hasn’t had an All-American at 125 since Nico Megaludis won an NCAA title in 2016. On top of that, Penn State’s 125-pound wrestlers are 2-6 up to this point in the season. The addition of Hildebrandt will be a huge boost to Penn State’s point-scoring potential in March and make them the slight favorites over Iowa for the team title at this point in the season. 

In April of 2021, Brady Berge announced his retirement from wrestling and shortly after took an assistant coaching job at South Dakota State. However, in a wild turn of events, Berge announced his intention to return to Penn State to compete for the Nittany Lions. Berge will likely wrestle at 157 and will be an All-American contender if he wrestles to his potential. Last season Berge was forced to injury default in his quarter-final match against Jesse Dellavecchia and in the round of 12 against Wyatt Sheets. Prior to his injury, Berge defeated #10 Kaleb Young and #22 Andrew Cerniglia. The move from coach to wrestler is unprecedented in NCAA wrestling and could prove to be the difference if Penn State wins a national title this season.

Berge's announcement on his return to Penn State:

🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/CANvUtrXNc

— Brady Berge (@bradyberge) January 7, 2022

Suriano’s Wolverine Debut

Prior to Sunday, it had been almost three years since #1 Nick Suriano wrestled his last collegiate match. Suriano picked up where he left off in March of 2019 with a major decision against HM Gage Curry and followed it up with a tech fall over Army’s Jake Staud. While it was only two matches, Suriano looked as good as ever and will be crucial to Michigan's run at a team title this season. He'll face even greater tests in the next three weeks with #11 Malik Heinselman, Drew Hildebrandt (likely ranked in the top 5), and #5 Patrick McKee. With Spencer Lee out, Suriano is the favorite to win a national title in March.

125: Suriano is dominant in his Michigan debut, cruises to an 18-7 major decision over Curry. Scored eight takedowns, rode for 3:13. 👏

Michigan 23, Pitt 0 pic.twitter.com/zjzDwOoQnK

— Michigan Wrestling (@umichwrestling) January 9, 2022

Lehigh Surprises Cornell

No one was expecting #22 to take out #9 Cornell in their dual on Friday night. However, thanks to upset victories by Jake Logan and AJ Burkhart, Lehigh secured an 18-15 victory in Grace Hall. At 174, Logan secured a late takedown in the second period and another in the third to get the 5-2 win over #10 Chris Foca. Then at 184, Burkhart was able to hold on in a back-and-forth 7-5 victory over #14 Jonathan Loew. The Mountain Hawks also had valuable wins from Malyke Hines, Connor McGonagle, Josh Humphreys, and Jordan Wood for a true team win. Lehigh’s team might be young but they are quickly proving to be full of potential. They’re sure to move up in our team dual rankings and are likely to be favored in every remaining dual on their schedule.

Jake Logan’s win over Chris Foca:

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AJ Burkhart’s win over Jonathan Loew:

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Purdue Gets Top 10 Win Over Nebraska

The #21 Purdue Boilermakers used upsets at 174 and 184 to secure a dual meet victory over the #7 Nebraska Cornhuskers. Gerrit Nijenhuis and Max Lyon were key to the Boilermaker’s upset win. #19 Nijenhuis was down 4-3 to #5 Mikey Labriola in the third period before he earned an escape and the match-winning takedown with less than 30 seconds left in the match to win 6-4. Then at 184, #23 Lyon secured a 7-2 victory over All-American #9 Taylor Venz. Going into the dual, Lyon was 0-3 against Venz but used takedowns in the first and third periods to get the win. While Purdue fell to #1 Iowa on Sunday, they’ll continue to be tested in upcoming duals against #20 Illinois, #13 Wisconsin, #14 Minnesota, and #15 Northwestern. 

Highlights of Gerrit Nijenhuis' win over Mikey Labriola:

😱 @gerrit_9house picks up the huge upset over No. 3 Mikey Labriola, to help propel the No. 15 Boilermakers to an 18-15 win over No. 9 Nebraska.#NCAAWrestling x 🎥 @PurdueWrestling pic.twitter.com/kzRZLtoVXe

— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) January 8, 2022

While the above were the biggest stories in the past week of NCAA wrestling, you can view all the box scores from week 10 here.