First off sorry for the delay! With such a busy week in collegiate wrestling I ended up not having time on Sunday night to get it all thought out and written down, so you're getting it a day later. With as much that went on and as much that happened, I'm not even sure where to start. I guess I'll start by saying that this week illustrated the high level of parity with our great sport.
Michigan State's Caleb Fish demonstrated this as he lost a 2-0 match to an unranked opponent from Lock Haven and then turns around and wrestles a beautiful match, upsetting Bucknell All American Zach Hartman in a 9-5 decision. These are the kind of results that make doing rankings a dream job.
What a great CKLV we had this year! Phenomenal wrestling! Plenty of great matches and some huge surprises!
I want to say something about the tournament as a whole and then go into depth weight by weight.
First off I really want fans to understand the toughness and the parity (there's that word again!) of NCAA Division I wrestling. Did you know that there were five wrestlers during the tournament who beat wrestlers who placed, but they did not place themselves?
125 Tanner Jordan dec Jordan Svihel 5-2 (Jordan DNP, Svihel took 6th)
157 Hunter Willits dec Andrew Cerniglia 3-1 (Willits DNP, Cerniglia took 8th)
157 Dazjon Casto dec Justin Thomas 3-1 (Casto DNP, Thomas took 7th)
197 Alan Clothier dec Thomas Penola 3-2 (Clothier DNP, Penola took 3rd)
197 Jacob Cardenas dec Evan Brockman 3-2 (Cardenas DNP, Brockman took 8th)
This is testimony to how difficult it is to medal at these major tournaments, and how seeding, draws and other factors go into whether someone makes the award stand or they don't.
As it was, as it is, as it will be, Princeton's Patrick Glory continues to hold his spot as the #2 wrestler in the country. It'd be rewarding to think that we may get to see him Vs Iowa's #1 Spencer Lee at the Midlands in about a month, but I'm not holding my breath. Devin Schroder of Purdue deserves a nod here. This is his third CKLV medal, including his second runner-up finish. One heck of an accomplishment. I'll ask when in the world did Oregon State's Brandon Kaylor get so good? Talk about kicking a double s to a third place finish. Lastly, I was impressed with Cal Poly's Antonio Lorenzo. A tech fall over South Dakota State's Tanner Jordan, a 5-2 decision over Navy's Jacob Allen and a 8-3 decision over Jake Svihel of Wyoming to a 5th place finish. Perhaps what was most impressive is that he held Glory to a 3-0 decision.
Michigan's Dylan Ragusin looked sharp all tournament in route to winning a CKLV title for the Wolverines. Wrestled tough and wrestled smart all tournament. You know who else was impressive in this bracket? Utah Valley's Haiden Drury. Lost a tough 4-3 semi-final to eventual champion Ragusin and then rallied back to defeat Minnesota's Jake Gliva 4-2 and Oregon State's Devin Turner 6-4. Feel free to let that fiend Terry Tumey over at Fresno State know the tremendous athlete he gave up.
I'll be honest when South Dakota State's Clay Carlson made All American last season, I felt that he came out of nowhere and it was sort of a miracle run. I tell you, I don't feel that way anymore. This kid is for real. Looked tremendous in route to winning the CKLV title. A question I had at the beginning of the season was how would Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado do down 8 lbs? Answer = Just fine. Had some great wins in route to a runner-up finish including a tech fall over Lawrence Saenz of Cal Poly and a 3-1 decision over Nebraska's Chad Red. Speaking of Red this was his third time earner a medal at CKLV. He's 4th-5th-3rd in his career.
Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis is still the man at 149. I said I thought he'd be challenged and I think that he was. Ridge Lovett of Nebraska did give him a match in the semi-finals. I also said that I thought Yahya Thomas of Northwestern would challenge Sammy Sasso and in a 6-4 loss, as far as I'm concerned he did. I honestly feel that the top 7 place-winners in this weight class, could very well end up 7 of the All Americans we see at the NCAA's. Extremely tough weight and Diakomihalis showed why so many revere him as the best wrestler in the NCAA.
If Ryan Deakin doesn't win the NCAA title this season, then we need to reevaluate the greatest of all time to never win an NCAA title and see exactly where he fits on the list. DO NOT take that as an omen. I DO believe Deakin wins the NCAA title this season. I'm simply making the case for how good this guy is. He just makes it look easy and it's a shame that he doesn't get the attention or credit that he deserves. For the record, this was his second CKLV title. Moving on Jacob Wright of Wyoming sure looked good didn't he? Feel free to say this to the sorry excuse for an A.D. Terry Tumey over at Fresno State too. He's another great talent that the Bulldogs gave up due to stupid decisions. If you've been following me for long, you know that I'm a fan of The Citadel's Dazjon Casto. What an emotional roller-coaster this tournament was for him. A great 3-1 win over Oklahoma's Justin Thomas & he wrestled Nebraska's Peyton Robb to a close decision in the quarterfinals. Dropped a heartbreaker in the round to place by a point to Navy's Andrew Cerniglia. Hopefully with as well as he performed, this gives in the confidence that he's been looking for and we start seeing these kind of results out of him from now on.
Isn't it insane how tough 165 lbs is? Cal Poly's Evan Wick sure as the sun shines made a statement this weekend. A dominating 6-2 decision over Stanford's Shane Griffith. He is going for the NCAA title.
Nebraska's Mikey Labriola is now 4th-3rd-1st at CKLV, and he still has another year of eligibility left. The technique he used to score the final points to defeat Ohio State's Ethan Smith was one of the most inventive I have seen in a long time. It was quick thinking and innovative. Something these days, you have to be in collegiate wrestling. I knew it was only a matter of time before Adam Kemp of Cal Poly (another former Fresno State Bulldog you p.o.g. Terry Tumey!) established himself as a top guy at 174. Rewarding to see him wrestle so well through the first three rounds, but was disappointed to see him medical forfeit to 6th after a tough loss in the semi-finals to Smith.
With as well as Ohio State's Kaleb Romero wrestled, it's hard to believe that he has yet to make the NCAA award stand. He will this season. That's all but guaranteed. Let's hear it for Taylor Venz of Nebraska, the ONLY wrestler in this year's CKLV to walk out a four time place-winner. He's 3rd-2nd-5th-2nd, one Hell of an accomplishment in collegiate wrestling and really, I shouldn't be the only person making a huge deal out of it. Cornell's Jonathan Loew came back strong from a tough semi-final loss to finish in 3rd place.
A lot of people seemed shocked with Stephen Buchanan's title run. I wasn't. I honestly wasn't. I've known ever since he went 4-0 against West Virginia's Noah Adams last season, that he was going to do some great things this season. I'll tell you what DID shock me though, Thomas Penola coming back from a second round loss to a 3rd place finish. A 7-5 decision over Louie DePrez of Binghamton and a 6-5 victory over Jake Woodley of Oklahoma. While a lot of things impressed me at CKLV, that might take the cake. Nebraska's Eric Schultz is now a two time CKLV runner-up.
Gas tank Gary!! Nothing confirmed, this is not verbatim but the story I've heard is that the reason he left Ohio State was because he wasn't going to beat out Tate Orndorff. True? Don't know, but if it is, this finish has to feel like a $1,000,000. I wrote in my CKLV preview, "Lastly I'll say that Gary Traub of Oregon State could use a good showing. He has been ranked in the past, but for right now has slipped off the radar. A good performance at CKLV & he'll soon enough be remembered. " Well, said and done!
While not the CKLV, the Cougar Clash in Edwardsville, Illinois was still a great tournament full of some great action.
Brown's Blake Saito looked very tough at 149 lbs. I'll be anxious to see him against other competition this season.
I spoke about him last week and I'm going to speak about him again today. I cannot get over how impressive this D.J. Hamiti of Wisconsin is. A 12-0 major decision over Cardeionte Wilson of SIUE and he sticks Northern Illinois' Iazzak Olejnik. I can't wait to see him against top 12 competition. I'm thinking upset. Freshman of the year? He makes a case.
Onward Week 6!
I want to say something about the tournament as a whole and then go into depth weight by weight.
First off I really want fans to understand the toughness and the parity (there's that word again!) of NCAA Division I wrestling. Did you know that there were five wrestlers during the tournament who beat wrestlers who placed, but they did not place themselves?
125 Tanner Jordan dec Jordan Svihel 5-2 (Jordan DNP, Svihel took 6th)
157 Hunter Willits dec Andrew Cerniglia 3-1 (Willits DNP, Cerniglia took 8th)
157 Dazjon Casto dec Justin Thomas 3-1 (Casto DNP, Thomas took 7th)
197 Alan Clothier dec Thomas Penola 3-2 (Clothier DNP, Penola took 3rd)
197 Jacob Cardenas dec Evan Brockman 3-2 (Cardenas DNP, Brockman took 8th)
This is testimony to how difficult it is to medal at these major tournaments, and how seeding, draws and other factors go into whether someone makes the award stand or they don't.
 |
| 125 |
As it was, as it is, as it will be, Princeton's Patrick Glory continues to hold his spot as the #2 wrestler in the country. It'd be rewarding to think that we may get to see him Vs Iowa's #1 Spencer Lee at the Midlands in about a month, but I'm not holding my breath. Devin Schroder of Purdue deserves a nod here. This is his third CKLV medal, including his second runner-up finish. One heck of an accomplishment. I'll ask when in the world did Oregon State's Brandon Kaylor get so good? Talk about kicking a double s to a third place finish. Lastly, I was impressed with Cal Poly's Antonio Lorenzo. A tech fall over South Dakota State's Tanner Jordan, a 5-2 decision over Navy's Jacob Allen and a 8-3 decision over Jake Svihel of Wyoming to a 5th place finish. Perhaps what was most impressive is that he held Glory to a 3-0 decision.
 |
| 133 |
Michigan's Dylan Ragusin looked sharp all tournament in route to winning a CKLV title for the Wolverines. Wrestled tough and wrestled smart all tournament. You know who else was impressive in this bracket? Utah Valley's Haiden Drury. Lost a tough 4-3 semi-final to eventual champion Ragusin and then rallied back to defeat Minnesota's Jake Gliva 4-2 and Oregon State's Devin Turner 6-4. Feel free to let that fiend Terry Tumey over at Fresno State know the tremendous athlete he gave up.
 |
| 141 |
I'll be honest when South Dakota State's Clay Carlson made All American last season, I felt that he came out of nowhere and it was sort of a miracle run. I tell you, I don't feel that way anymore. This kid is for real. Looked tremendous in route to winning the CKLV title. A question I had at the beginning of the season was how would Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado do down 8 lbs? Answer = Just fine. Had some great wins in route to a runner-up finish including a tech fall over Lawrence Saenz of Cal Poly and a 3-1 decision over Nebraska's Chad Red. Speaking of Red this was his third time earner a medal at CKLV. He's 4th-5th-3rd in his career.
 |
| 149 |
Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis is still the man at 149. I said I thought he'd be challenged and I think that he was. Ridge Lovett of Nebraska did give him a match in the semi-finals. I also said that I thought Yahya Thomas of Northwestern would challenge Sammy Sasso and in a 6-4 loss, as far as I'm concerned he did. I honestly feel that the top 7 place-winners in this weight class, could very well end up 7 of the All Americans we see at the NCAA's. Extremely tough weight and Diakomihalis showed why so many revere him as the best wrestler in the NCAA.
 |
| 157 |
If Ryan Deakin doesn't win the NCAA title this season, then we need to reevaluate the greatest of all time to never win an NCAA title and see exactly where he fits on the list. DO NOT take that as an omen. I DO believe Deakin wins the NCAA title this season. I'm simply making the case for how good this guy is. He just makes it look easy and it's a shame that he doesn't get the attention or credit that he deserves. For the record, this was his second CKLV title. Moving on Jacob Wright of Wyoming sure looked good didn't he? Feel free to say this to the sorry excuse for an A.D. Terry Tumey over at Fresno State too. He's another great talent that the Bulldogs gave up due to stupid decisions. If you've been following me for long, you know that I'm a fan of The Citadel's Dazjon Casto. What an emotional roller-coaster this tournament was for him. A great 3-1 win over Oklahoma's Justin Thomas & he wrestled Nebraska's Peyton Robb to a close decision in the quarterfinals. Dropped a heartbreaker in the round to place by a point to Navy's Andrew Cerniglia. Hopefully with as well as he performed, this gives in the confidence that he's been looking for and we start seeing these kind of results out of him from now on.
 |
| 165 |
Isn't it insane how tough 165 lbs is? Cal Poly's Evan Wick sure as the sun shines made a statement this weekend. A dominating 6-2 decision over Stanford's Shane Griffith. He is going for the NCAA title.
 |
| 174 |
Nebraska's Mikey Labriola is now 4th-3rd-1st at CKLV, and he still has another year of eligibility left. The technique he used to score the final points to defeat Ohio State's Ethan Smith was one of the most inventive I have seen in a long time. It was quick thinking and innovative. Something these days, you have to be in collegiate wrestling. I knew it was only a matter of time before Adam Kemp of Cal Poly (another former Fresno State Bulldog you p.o.g. Terry Tumey!) established himself as a top guy at 174. Rewarding to see him wrestle so well through the first three rounds, but was disappointed to see him medical forfeit to 6th after a tough loss in the semi-finals to Smith.
 |
| 184 |
With as well as Ohio State's Kaleb Romero wrestled, it's hard to believe that he has yet to make the NCAA award stand. He will this season. That's all but guaranteed. Let's hear it for Taylor Venz of Nebraska, the ONLY wrestler in this year's CKLV to walk out a four time place-winner. He's 3rd-2nd-5th-2nd, one Hell of an accomplishment in collegiate wrestling and really, I shouldn't be the only person making a huge deal out of it. Cornell's Jonathan Loew came back strong from a tough semi-final loss to finish in 3rd place.
 |
| 197 |
A lot of people seemed shocked with Stephen Buchanan's title run. I wasn't. I honestly wasn't. I've known ever since he went 4-0 against West Virginia's Noah Adams last season, that he was going to do some great things this season. I'll tell you what DID shock me though, Thomas Penola coming back from a second round loss to a 3rd place finish. A 7-5 decision over Louie DePrez of Binghamton and a 6-5 victory over Jake Woodley of Oklahoma. While a lot of things impressed me at CKLV, that might take the cake. Nebraska's Eric Schultz is now a two time CKLV runner-up.
 |
| HWT |
Gas tank Gary!! Nothing confirmed, this is not verbatim but the story I've heard is that the reason he left Ohio State was because he wasn't going to beat out Tate Orndorff. True? Don't know, but if it is, this finish has to feel like a $1,000,000. I wrote in my CKLV preview, "Lastly I'll say that Gary Traub of Oregon State could use a good showing. He has been ranked in the past, but for right now has slipped off the radar. A good performance at CKLV & he'll soon enough be remembered. " Well, said and done!
While not the CKLV, the Cougar Clash in Edwardsville, Illinois was still a great tournament full of some great action.
Brown's Blake Saito looked very tough at 149 lbs. I'll be anxious to see him against other competition this season.
I spoke about him last week and I'm going to speak about him again today. I cannot get over how impressive this D.J. Hamiti of Wisconsin is. A 12-0 major decision over Cardeionte Wilson of SIUE and he sticks Northern Illinois' Iazzak Olejnik. I can't wait to see him against top 12 competition. I'm thinking upset. Freshman of the year? He makes a case.
Onward Week 6!
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