We have a great dual coming up this Sunday between the #13 South Dakota State Jackrabbits & the #14 Northern Iowa Panthers. Eight matches stick out in particular.
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| #5 Tanner Jordan Vs #28 Trever Anderson 125 |
If you look at the overall career of Tanner Jordan, he is one of the most improved wrestlers in the country. The senior version of himself would absolutely destroy the freshman version of himself. He won matches last year, that he never would've won in years previous. 8th in the DI nation last season, I'm anxious to see where he'll finish this year. The last he met up with Trever Anderson, it was an 8-0 major decision for the Jackrabbit. In a dual of a #13 Vs a #14 team, every point is crucial. If Jordan can once again get bonus, that'll be huge for the blue & yellow. I imagine Damion Hahn will be giving Jordan the same type of pep talk Coach J Robinson was giving him back in the day. I can picture it now. "This is a battle of the wills..." At the same time, Coach Dough Schwab knows the importance of the dual too. He has a good track record of his wrestlers usually performing better each time. Giving up 3 points in such a match, rather than 4 could be the difference in dual outcome.
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| #24 Derrick Cardinal Vs #27 Julian Farber 133 |
I just said that Coach Schwab does a good job of having his guys perform better each match, and here's an example of it. Derrick Cardinal defeated Julian Farber 8-3 the first time the two met & then he defeated him 4-1 s.v. the second time they met. It's already difficult enough to defeat a good wrestler three times in a row. The fact that Schwab's #1 strength (at least in my opinion) is getting inside his wrestlers heads and convincing them that they won't be beat in a close match a third time, makes it all the tougher. I've seen him do this on more than one occasion. With that noted, I also know that Coach Hahn will have Cardinal prepared for this match. He already knows that Schwab's going to have Farber mentally prepared, and prepared to throw everything he has at Cardinal. In turn, Cardinal will be mentally prepared, ready to throw everything he has at Farber. This match will be as much about wrestler Vs wrestler, as it will be about Coach vs Coach. Looking very, very forward to this one.
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| #25 Alek Martin Vs #17 Colin Realbuto 149 |
The last time these two met, it was an 8-2 decision for Colin Realbuto over Alek Martin. If Realbuto could add two points to the score & make it a major decision this time, that would be huge for the Panthers. Coach Schwab would love to knock off the higher ranked SDSU in front of a home crowd this Sunday, and if they are to do that, it'll take such efforts. Easier said than done though. Brookings isn't traveling the 5 hours southeast to Cedar Falls to take a loss. If anything it may be hard enough for Realbuto to put another 6 point spread between himself and Martin.
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| #14 Cobe Siebrecht Vs #6 Ryder Downey 157 |
Here's a match I'm looking forward to. While an Iowa Hawkeye, Cobe Siebrecht did some good things for the black & gold. The Jackrabbits picked up a good, tough transfer and mark my word, he's going to do some good things for the blue & yellow. I think he's better than the #14 ranking he currently has. Now the question is, is he better than the #6? Ryder Downey himself has done a lot of great things for the purple and gold. He finished R12 at last year's NCAA DI championships losing close matches to All Americans Bryce Andonian & Jared Franek. Both of these guys have their sights set on being top 8 by '24-'25's end. Here's an excellent opportunity for each to prove himself this Sunday.
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| #3 Cade DeVos Vs #14 Jared Simma 174 |
I don't think Coach Hahn gets enough credit for how well he develops and improves his wrestlers. Much like Tanner Jordan, Cade DeVos of today is head and shoulders better than Cade DeVos of yesterday. Give me a time machine. Go back to DeVos' freshman season. I'm sure some will say that they could see him being pretty good in a couple of years, but no one was going to say they could see him ranked #3 in the country. That's a testimony to the superb Coaching job being done at South Dakota State by Hahn & Co. Can DeVos earn valuable bonus points against Jared Simma? We're in the Panther's house, wrestling on the Panther's mat, in front of the Panther's people. Those factors do make a difference. It's essential that the Jackrabbits do earn bonus here & it's as essential to the Panthers that they don't.
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| #4 Bennett Berge Vs #2 Parker Keckeisen 184 |
I tell you what, I was thoroughly impressed with the intestinal fortitude and true grit of Bennett Berge at last year's NCAA DI championships. Loses first round and comes back through the consolations to win 6 tough matches to finish in 4th place. That takes an extreme amount of mental toughness & it shows the type of heart that Berge has. With that said, has he got his work cut out for him this Sunday. This isn't your normal #4 Vs #2 match. The #2 we're talking about here is Parker Keckeisen. A wrestler who as far as I'm concerned in the long, illustrious history of Northern Iowa wrestling, has already cemented himself as the best the purple and gold has ever produced. 3rd-3rd-2nd-1st, argue with me anyone you'd put above him. On top of it all, he's on a quest this year to prevent four time NCAA DI champion Carter Starocci from winning his 5th NCAA DI title. He manages to do that, I won't even entertain another argument that he's not the best Panther of all time. Case closed.
So what I'm trying to say here, is that as good as Berge is. As much as I believe Berge will be competing for an NCAA DI title himself in the future, the goal on Sunday will be keeping this match to a decision. Keckeisen is simply put, on a whole other level.
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| #9 Zach Glazier Vs #15 Wyatt Voelker 197 |
There's a lot of talk at 197. Buchanan, Ferrari, Cardenas, Little.... You want a darkhorse? The answer here is Zach Glazier. Damion Hahn won both of his NCAA DI titles competing at 197 lbs. I think he knows how to coach a 197 lbs'er. I'm sure right here and right now, I'll be laughed at for what I'm about to say. I may very well eat my words when the day comes. I'm ok with that. I've been writing wrestling articles for 22 years now. It wouldn't be the first time. With that said, I'm looking very forward to the Soldier Salute. It'll be the one time that Glazier has an opportunity to meet up with Buchanan on the mat. See I'm not 100% sold on the fact that Buchanan would've easily won the wrestle-off with Glazier. Especially if they squared off multiple times to see who got the starting spot. Stating my feelings may get me in hot water and so be it. I'm here to be honest and concise, not worry about people's underwear riding up uncomfortably.
That's in the future. Right now, Glazier has to worry about Wyatt Voelker. The last time the two met, it was a 12-3 major for Glazier. If he were able to get bonus again, that would be huge for the Jackrabbits. Again, a tough order. We're in Panther country & I'll note again how good Schwab is of preparing his wrestlers. Voelker is a tough hombre in his own right. Still think a W for Glazier, but could be a closer match.
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| #25 Luke Rasmussen Vs U.R. Lance Runyon HWT |
I'm very intrigued by this match. Lance Runyon is a two time NCAA DI qualifier, but that was at 174 lbs. Now he's at HWT. Theoretically we're talking about would could be a 100 lbs difference. How do you analyze that? Where do you even begin? Thus far he's 5-0 but he hasn't even remotely faced anyone of Rasmussen's caliber yet. This will give us a chance to see exactly where Runyon is at as far as HWT is concerned. This one is a good question mark, as far as I'm concerned, for both teams. Favors the Jackrabbits on paper, could very well on the mat as well.
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