If you're anywhere near Marshall, Missouri on Thursday & you're looking for some great wrestling action, Missouri Valley is the place to be. In Dual action we will see five ranked teams competing including #5 Baker, #8 Cumberland, #9 Campbellsville, #12 Missouri Valley & #17 Ottawa. Along with these ranked teams Hastings, St Ambrose and William Penn all have competitive wrestlers as well.
Here are the teams & Their top wrestlers.
Here are the teams & Their top wrestlers.
#6 Dominick Arellano a native of California was an All American last season with a 6th place finish at the NAIA championships. The match to look forward to with him will be when Baker takes on Cumberland. There he will face #17 KeShawn Lewis.
#7 Austin Kolvek was one match shy of NAIA All American honors this past season, but he still has plenty of time left in his career as he is technically still only a freshman. Along with #9 Dylan Pelland the two will face some quality competition throughout the duals. Not sure if Baker will wrestle Kolvek, Pelland or have the two split. Their competition includes #7 Edrich Nortje of Hastings, #10 Tombola Sindihebura of Campbellsville, #15 Joseph Rice of Missouri Valley and U.R. Riley Woods of St. Ambrose.
#12 Asiel Flores a Kansas native will have competition from #20 Esteban Remilliard, #10 Dayton Marvel of Campbellsville & U.R. Cameron Hargrove of William Penn.
#14 Joey Hancock a transfer from Queens University will really have some interesting test as he'll take #2 Cole Smith of Cumberland, #6 Taygen Smith of Hastings,#3 Gavin Smith or #14 Tristan Sellmer of Campbellsville, U.R. Matheson Meade of William Penn and #12 William Seibert of Missouri Valley. Of all the Wildcats, Hancock is going to have the most challenging day.
#3 Isaiah Luellen has been a permanent fixture for the Wildcats the past two seasons earning back to back NAIA All American honors with 4th and 5th place finishes. Nevertheless he'll still have some challenging matches as he will have to face #6 Mahlic Sallah of Campbellsville, UR. Makail Stanley of William Penn and #7 Hayden Wempen of Missouri Valley
#13 Joey Ewalt's best competition will be in #5 David Richardson of Campbellsville
#13 Brett Bober's got himself a pretty challenging day as well. Put in front of him will be #13 John Olivieri, #15 Karim Shakur, U.R. Jesse Schwery and U.R. TyReese Johnson.
#17 KeShawn Laws is one of those guys. A senior that has qualified for the NAIA championships in multiple seasons, I think while he'll have some good matches this Thursday, I think he can go undefeated in the Valley Clash Duals.
#20 Esteban Remillard will have a tough day in #12 Flores, #10 Dayton Marvel of Campbellsville and U.R. Cameron Hargrove of William Penn.
#5 Anthony Maia has been a great addition to the Phoenix lineup since transferring from Iowa Lakes Community College a few seasons ago. He has thus far been 4th and 5th in the NAIA championships. His best competition on Thursday will come from Hasting's #14 Thomas Steveson.
#2 Cole Smith wasn't wanted or appreciated by Camden Selig at Old Dominion, so he transferred to Cumberland where Ron Paven was proud of his 3rd place NAIA finish last season. A contender for this year's NAIA title, at the Valley Clash Duals Smith will have competition from U.R. Matheson Meade of William Penn, #6 Taygen smith of Hastings, #14 Tirstan Sellmer of Campbellsville & #12 William Seibert of Missouri Valley.
#13 John Olivieri looks to finally break through and reach NAIA All American honors this season after finishing the round of twelve in three previous tournaments. If you notice, both he & Bober of Baker share a #13 ranking. We'll get a chance to see who really deserves it. Along with Bober he also has #10 Carson Savage of Ottawa, U.R. TyReese Johnson of St. Ambrose, U.R. Jesse Schwery of William Penn & #15 Karim Shakur of Missouri Valley. .
#3 Patrick DePiazza has been an excellent addition to the Phoenix squad since transferring from Ellsworth Community college. In 2020 he was 7th at the NAIA nationals and he followed up that performance by placing 4th last season. He'll have two extremely tough challenges in #8 Benito Hernandez of Ottawa & #4 Josh Isaac of Missouri Valley.
Another tough program in the state of Kansas, Ottawa brings in five ranked grapplers to compete in the Valley Clash Duals.
#16 Gabriel McDuffie a transfer from Labette Community College earned Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) honors a few different times last season & looks to earn a whole lot more this season. Along with previously mentioned #5 Maia, he'll have #14 Thomas Stevenson of Hastings to contend with at the duals.
#17 J.D. Perez was a three time New Mexico state finalist while in high school & already he has found himself ranked within the top 20 in the NAIA. Along with aforementioned #3 Luellen of Baker, Perez will also contend with Makil Stanley of William Penn, #6 Mahlic Sallah of Campbellsville and #7 Hayden Wempen of Missouri Valley.
#8 Cameron Young-Loggett a two time NJCAA qualifier for Cloud County Community College has a tough road ahead of him with #13 Ewalt of Baker, #5 David Richardson of Florida and #11 Ottis Peeler of Missouri Valley.
#10 Carson Savage who was one match shy of All American honors last season has not only #13's Bober (Baker) and Oliveiri (13) to contend with but also U.R. TyReese Johnson of St Ambrose & #15 Karim Shakur of Missouri Valley.
#8 Benito Hernandez was yet another wrestler to finish one match shy of All American honors last season. The two time NJCAA qualifier transfer of Cloud County Community College is looking for an opportunity to try and knock off #3 DePiazza of Cumberland as well as #4 Josh Isaac of Missouri Valley.
Still in it's infancy the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees wrestling program has yet to crack an of their individuals into the rankings. I do believe though that at the moment they have two wrestlers that are capable of posting upsets this weekend.
Riley Woods is one of the two. Woods is a tough grappler who never backs down & fights a full 7 minutes on the mat. Only a freshman, I see great potential for his future as long as he keeps up his work ethic and doesn't let down on his aggressive style. Upset anyone here at the Valley Clash duals? Well it's not going to be easy. Already mentioned #7 Kolvek and #9 Pelland of Baker, he also has Edrich Nortje of Hastings who shares that #7 ranking with Kolvek. It'll be tough to upend any of these competitors, but Woods should show he belongs on the mat with them.
TyReese Johnson has phenomenal mat positioning & great defense. Also a member of the Fighting Bees football program, Johnson has tremendous upper-body strength and he is very tough to score on. I think when it is all said and done, he'll be the first of the Bees that finds himself in the rankings.
I was told that William Penn is featured in other rankings, but I was not able to access those rankings and the rankings I am using don't feature any of the statesmen. Nevertheless, I know that the Navy Blue and Gold have some really tough kids on their team.
Not sure if I'm seeing an upsets out of Cameron Hargrove but I can see him wrestling well.
Matheson Meade is another I can see wrestling well. A Tennessee state runner-up in high school, where he really excelled was in freestyle and Greco. I think in due time we'll see some good things out Meade. Here at the Valley Clash Duals? Maybe.
Makail Stanley was an Illinois state place-winner and probably could have just as easily chosen football or track, but luckily for us he decided to continue wrestling in college. Like Hargrove and Meade, see a bright future & wonder if we might see glimpses of it here.
Lastly Jesse Schwery is another statesmen I can see doing well. One that I can see when his career is all said and done, having a better collegiate career than he did in high school. Schwery thus far owns a victory over Johnson. A 5-4 decision & a rematch to look forward to.
The interesting thing about Hastings program is that it features wrestlers from areas what we aren't that used to seeing wrestlers from.
#7 Edrich Nortje, a South African wrestler who finished one match shy of NAIA All American honors last season is one of them. As mentioned KOlvak and Pelland of Baker, as well as Woods of St Ambrose will be among his competition, alos to face #10 Tombola Sindihebura of Campbellsville and #15 Joseph Rice of Missouri Valley.
#14 Thomas Steveson is one of the rare collegiate wrestlers we get to see from Hawaii. He originally started off his career at North Idaho, which has been a phenomenal pipeline to various colleges for the past 50 years. #5 Maia of Cumberland & #16 McDuffie of Ottawa will be his toughest opponents.
#6 Taygen Smith is a graduate of Amarillo High in Texas, that finished 7th in the NAIA tournament last season. Coincidentally enough, I was in Amarillo earlier this summer and had a conversation with a gentlemen at an IHOP. He saw me decked out in wrestling gear, shirt & ball cap. I laughed when he said, "Wrestling fan?" I responded, "Yeah, not a real big sport around here, but pretty big in Iowa where I'm from." He responded, "Oh, no. The college doesn't have it, but the high schools do and they're pretty good." Well low and behold, they must be if they are producing talent like Smith. He'll have #14 Hancock of Baker, #2 Smith of Cumberland, #3 Gavin Smith of Campbellsville & #12 William Siebert of Missouri Valley to contend with.
The Tigers have a very tough team this season, featuring six wrestlers ranked within the top 15. Many members of their squad have something to prove this season, after not quite reaching their potential last season.
#10 Tombola Sindihebura I would say has the ability to be a top 8 wrestler within the NAIA by season's end. An upset over #7 Kolvek or #9 Pelland of Baker would be great for his career as would be over #7 Nortje of Hastings. He'll went to avoid being upset by Woods of St. Ambrose or #15 Joseph Rice of Missouri Valley.
#10 Dayton Marvel was an All American for Oklahoma Wesleyan with a 6th place finish back in 2019. Finishing one match shy of All American status in 2020, he has yet to reclaim his status as a place-winner. Like Sindehebura he more than has the ability to finish top 8 this season. He'll be tested here against #12 Flores of Baker, #20 Remillard of Cumberland & Hargrove of William Penn.
#3 Gavin Smith I would call a contender for this year's NAIA title. The four time Georgia high school state place-winner was 4th in the NAIA last season. I also realize the Tigers will probably start #14 Tristan Sellmer in a few duals, but really, really hope that they put in Smith when Campbellsville wrestles Cumberland. The battle of the Smiths if you will. I wanna see Gavin Smith Vs #2 Cole Smith. For that matter I also want to see Gavin Smith Vs #6 Taygen Smith of Hastings. #14 Hancock of Baker and #12 Seibert of Missouri Valley will be the other tough competition for Smith.
#6 Mahlic Sallah was 5th in the NAIA in 2020, but had to settle for one match shy of All American honors last season. Looking to reclaim his status as an All American this season, he'll be tested here against #7 Hayden Wempen when Campbellsville wrestles Missouri Valley.
#5 David Richardson a standout from Florida, who also plays football for the Tigers, has finished a heartbreaking R12 the past three seasons at the NAIA championships. He has the ability to finally break through and earn NAIA All American honors & he'll get some good test at the Valley Clash duals. #13 Ewalt of Baker & #11 Ottis Peeler of Missouri Valley.
And now we get to talk about the host, the Vikings of Missouri Valley, that feature seven wrestlers ranked in the top 15.
#15 Joseph Rice won four Idaho state championships while in high school. He'll be tested by either #7 Kolvek or #9 Pelland of Baker, Woods of St Ambrose, #7 Nortje of Hastings and #10 Sindihebura of Campbellsville.
#14 Brayden Bradley might very well go undefeated on Thursday.
#12 William Seibert will have # 14 Hancock of Baker, #3 Smith of Cumberland, #6 Smith of Hastings, Meade of William Penn & #3 Smith of Campbellsville.
#7 Hayden Wempen, a transfer from Northeastern Community College was an NAIA All American last season with an 8th place finish. He'l have #3 Luellen of Baker, Stanley of William Penn and #6 Sallah of Campbellsville.
#11 Peeler a transfer from Crowley Community College, will have #13 Ewalt of Baker, #8 Young-Leggett of Ottawa & #5 Richardson of Campbellsville.
#15 Karim Shakur a native of California won't have a break all day Vs #13 Bober of Baker, #13 Olivieri of Cumberland, #10 Savage of Ottawa, Johnson of St Ambrose, Schwery of William Penn.
#4 Josh Isaac was an NAIA All American last season with a 5th place finish. He gives us wrestling fans something that we saw all the time 25-30 years ago, but rarely see today. There aren't many really big boys left in the HWT class these days. He's one of them & for a big guy, he can move. Very excited to see him against #3 DePiazza of Cumberland as well as #8 Hernandez of Ottawa.
And there you have it! A preview of the Valley Clash duals. Going to be some great wrestling!
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