Princeton Open Recap & Review

 

This ended up being a pretty good little season opener.  As it usually is, pretty revealing.  Here is my takeaway. 

Lehigh's Got A 125'er Who Will Immediately Be A Force in the EIWA in the '24-'25 Season

I tell you it really messes with my head sometimes.  Joziah Fry of Johnson & Wales is one of the best NCAA DIII wrestlers I've ever seen.  He just mowed through the competition last season, going 43-0 in route to winning a D3 national title.  To think, he has another year after this one left too.  Here at the Princeton Open, Fry even had an impressive win over Sheldon Seymour of Lehigh 5-4 in the quarter-finals.  Luke Stanich, a true freshman who is currently redshirting, nearly majored Fry 11-4 in the finals. 

I'm gonna say something that some would think would be better left unsaid.  Does it ever go through these guys' heads about how they could essentially be Gods at a lower level? I even asked a wrestler that once who had transferred from DI to DIII many moons ago. No doubt about it, Stanich will compete at the DI level, but think about how he'd rule in DIII.  Fry by the way was a DI wrestler himself at one point, competing for Campbell. I guess I'm just thinking out loud, but it was surreal seeing Stanich nearly major Fry. Fry after all is a guy who at the DIII level may never lose again. 

Another Tough Freshman For The Mountain Hawks

Stanich isn't the only tough youngster on the Mountain Hawk squad.  Ryan Crookham a redshirt freshman, more than took care of business at 133 lbs.  He had his way with Gable Strickland of Lock Haven 11-3 in the semi-finals & then tore Richie Koehler of Rider a new one in a 14-4 major decision.  Both of these guys NCAA qualifiers, Strickland an MAC champ last year. 

Lehighs' Got Some Seniority Too

Malyke Hines won a solid 141 lbs bracket. Joey Olivieri of Rutgers defeated Wyatt Henson of Lock Haven 7-3 in the semi-finals & then Hines defeated Olivieri 7-6 in the finals.  Dropping an 11-4 decision to Henson, teammate Carter Bailey battled back to 5th. 

Princeton's Got Something To Be Excited About

I can see why Princeton is excited about Cross Wasilewski.  Granted this Princeton Open wasn't the toughest of competition, but still a 4-2 victory over Thomas Deck is impressive.  I'd consider Deck to be NCAA qualifier material this season, with a probability of being top 33 by year's end. 

And Now Back to Lehigh 

Max Brignola looked good winning a solid 157 lbs bracket.  Defeated Colton Washleski of Rider 21-8 in the finals after defeating teammate Luca Frinzi 11-7 in the semi-finals.  Washleski upset teammate Jake Silverstein 5-1 in the semi-finals.  Anxious to see if this ends up being a back and forth between the two Broncos or if Washleski is the new man for Rider at 157. 

Jake Logan Wins 165 lbs Bracket 

I thought Jake Logan looked good here at the Princeton Open, but honestly, so did teammate Hunter Mays.  The two met in a semi-final where Logan took a 4-1 decision.  Mays came back to take 3rd, noting an impressive 9-6 victory over Avery Bassett of Lock Haven.  Also noticed that Dakota Morris of Army wrestled a tough tournament.  A runner-up finish for the freshman, holding Logan to a 3-2 decision. 

No thoughts concerning 174 lbs.....

I Hate Medical Forfeits 

Medical Forfeits are as much a part of collegiate wrestling as are singlets and headgear.  Doesn't matter, I hate them anyway.  I get they have their purpose & I'll begrudgingly say that I'm in favor of them when wrestlers are legitimately hurt/injured & they need time to recover/heal. I get that. This is a six month long season & staying healthy can be the most challenging task that wrestlers face. However, I hate it when a match isn't wrestled, that could have otherwise been wrestled.  I think Nate Dugan most likely would have won anyway, but I still would have liked to have seen the match between him and Koel Mulhauser anyway.  

Who in the Hell Seeded 197 lbs? 

Seriously, who was in charge of seeds at 197 lbs?  Why in the Hell did Michael Beard of Lehigh & Luke Stout of Princeton meet in the quarter-finals?  This should have been a finals match.  Beard, a former All American not even getting a seed & then meeting up with #1 Stout that early on? This was an oversight or something. Made no sense.  Beard won 18-8, as Stout then MFF'd to 6th place.  I try and keep complaining to a bare minimum but somethings need complained about.  This is somethings. 

Flex Those Muscles Man, Cause You Looked Strong 

We started out this recap talking about Lehigh, and we're gonna end it talking about Lehigh.  Nathan Taylor looked real good winning the HWT title. I thought he might have more of a struggle than what he did, but he overcame the competition.  A 5-1 win over Isaac Reid of Lock Haven in the Semis, he then really took it to Lucas Stoddard of Army 19-3 tech in the finals. 

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