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NCAA D1 Weekly Roundup: 2024-25

NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 6 Roundup: Much Happened In Vegas

NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 6 Roundup: Much Happened In Vegas

The world's finest collection of noteworthy happenings from the 6th week of the 2024-25 NCAA D1 wrestling season.

Dec 9, 2024 by Andrew Spey
NCAA D1 Wrestling Week 6 Roundup: Much Happened In Vegas

It's the most wonderful time of the year! Wrestling season!

It's also nice to be in the full swing of holiday season. Now that we're all done stuffing our faces with turkey and leftovers it's time to break out the music and decorations!

Box Scores | Rankings | Last Week's Roundup

Last week was light on action due to Thanksgiving, but just about everyone was back on the mats this week, so let's get to it. 

We’ll start the week as we did last week, with the Dual of the Century of the Week, because this is a pro-dual blog. Duals are the lifeblood of college wrestling. No duals, no season. No season, no fans. No fans, no new wrestlers, and the sport is forever diminished. 

The Dual of the Century, of the Week

Lions Maul Mountain Hawks In The PPL Center

Okay so maybe it was a blowout, and maybe they're closing all the factories down, and maybe they're all killing time, filling out forms, standing in line. But also there were 9,769 watching here in Allentown, and that counts for something!

Lehigh hosted their in-state rival in the PPL Center, an arena whose primary tenant is the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, which is a minor league hockey team affiliated with the Flyers. 

The Mountain Hawks normally wrestle in Bethlehem, the city that inspired Billy Joel's song 'Allentown', which is where you can find the PPL Center. 

Anyhow, here is the box score:

125: #23 Luke Lilledahl (PSU) dec. #17 Sheldon Seymour (LEH), 4-1

133: #1 Ryan Crookham (LEH) dec. #8 Braeden Davis (PSU), 4-2 

141: #3 Beau Bartlett (PSU) dec. Carter Bailey (LEH), 5-0 

149: #2 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) maj. dec. Matt Repos (LEH), 17-3

157: #4 Tyler Kasak (PSU) dec. Logan Rozynski (LEH), 5-2 

165: #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (PSU) tech fall Thayne Lawrence (LEH), 18-1 (TF; 4:37)

174: #2 Levi Haines (PSU) pinned Rylan Rogers (LEH), WBF (4:12)

184: #1 Carter Starocci (PSU) maj. dec. Jack Wilt (LEH), 15-1

197: #21 Josh Barr (PSU) maj. dec. #6 Michael Beard (LEH), 11-3 

285: #2 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) tech fall Calvin Lachman (LEH), 15-0 (TF; 2:07)

Penn State won 36-3.

  • The Nittany Lions won 9 of 10 bouts. 
  • Lehigh's sole victory came from 133-pound standard-bearer Ryan Crookham, who also got the only takedown of the day for the Mountain Hawks.
    • Freshman Logan Rozynski keeping it close with Tyler Kasak was a moral victory for Lehigh, but that was about it as far as good news for the Brown & White. 
  • Josh Barr willmake the biggest jumps in the rankings of any of the dual's participants, after he majored (!) two-time All-American Michael Beard. 
    • It's still very early in Barr's career to consider him a title contender, but I'm not ruling out the possibility. In fact, I'm probably leaning in that direction right now. 
  • Luke Lilledahl likewise has some time before he earns a top ranking (and seed at NCAAs), but I think it's more than possible, likely even, that he gets there by March. 
  • Penn State duals Missouri later this month and the potential 174-pound bout between Levi Haines and Keegan O'Toole is MASSIVE. 
  • Big duals in big arenas with large, boisterous crowds are the best, and this was the best of the best in Week 6, despite the lopsided scoreboard. 
    • There was a team point deducted from PSU's total at 184 pounds, but I didn't see what it was for. Just wanted to explain the Lions' point total. 
    • I heard the mat-level cameras were excellent!
  • Our Insider team did a great job finding storylines leading up to the dual! Check out our latest Nittany Lion Insider and Mountain Hawk Insider if you want to read more about these teams!

Speaking of duals, Shane Sparks badly wants an NCAA dual meet championship. Do you agree? I do!

What Happens In Vegas Includes The CKLV

Thirty teams sent their varsity lineups (most sent full lineups, some sent slightly depleted lineups due to injuries) to Las Vegas for the 42nd annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and it ruled. 

There were more than 100 ranked wrestlers battling it out in big brackets over two days and four sessions, all inside the fabulous Las Vegas Convention Center, in the hall right next to the MJBizCon. 

We did a bunch of content about that event. You can read our lightweight, middleweight and upperweight previews and judge how we did with our predictions; read up on some CKLV history, check out all the upsets; review how the team race unfolded; or sift through ten glorious brackets with full wrestlebacks to top eight placements. 

The headline was the Oklahoma State Cowboys running away with the team title in David Taylor's first major college tournament as a head coach, mainly on the strength of five finalists and two champs. 

Here are some more notes about the event that failed to stay in Vegas: 

  • Oklahoma State had the most champs with two, eight other teams had one. 
    • All 10 Cowboys placed fifth or higher. Second-place Nebraska had the next most top-five finishers with five. 
    • All 10 Cowboys placed at or above their seed (with most outperforming). 
    • Caleb Fish (3rd at 157), Cam Amine (2nd at 165), and Dean Hamiti (1st at 174) were all Big Ten 165-pound rivals last year (at Michigan State, Michigan, and Wisconsin, respectively). Now they are all starting at three different weights for Oklahoma State (all are grad transfers). 
    • Wyatt Hendrickson, the Great American Hero, won OW, thanks to gnarly moves such as this pin of Isaac Trumble in the finals. 
  • Antrell Taylor wrestled a superb tournament for the Huskers down at his preferred weight of 157 (though he did AA at 165 last season), and he helped lift the Huskers into runner-up position on the team podium.
    • One of the most controversial calls of the tournament happened in Taylor's final versus UNI's Ryder Downey, but regardless of your opinion on the call it happened early enough in the match and both wrestlers should be praised for their efforts and performance. 
    • Brock Hardy and Ridge Lovett fell short of an individual title, but I would not be selling any stock in either of them at this point in the season. 
  • Jesse Mendez continues to look like a championship-caliber 141-pounder, as he powered the Buckeyes to a third-place finish with his second CKLV title. 
    • Though he did not place at the tournament, Sammy Sasso being on that mat after his near-fatal shooting provides an inspirational boost for the whole team no matter how he performs. Also Sasso is not that far away from being back to peak form. 
    • Nic Bouzakis bounced back from a surprise loss to Zeth Romney (at least at the time, Romney went on to win a title. More on him in a bit) and rampaged through the consolations, putting 43 points against his final three ranked opponents to place third. 
  • Virginia Tech was without #12 Connor McGonagle and #6 Lennox Wolak but still placed fourth in a crowded field. 
    • Caleb Henson won the 149-pound bracket in beastly manner and confirmed he is committed to staying in Blacksburg and competing at least through the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, so Hokie fans, and fans of tough wrestling, have that to look forward to. 
  • Iowa State failed to defend its 2023 CKLV team title and missed out on any individual champs this year, but I'd temper any Cyclone takes with the fact that it is early and Coach Kevin Dresser will not have his lineup in its final form until very close to the postseason. 
  • Northern Iowa's Parker Keckesin beat Dustin Plott once again in the finals. I'm not sure if Keckeisen gets enough credit for being 4-0 against a wrestler of Plott's caliber, who is a three-time All-American. 
    • Lance Runyon, who started his career at 165 pounds, placed seventh at heavyweight at the CKLV. That is truly a Herculean accomplishment. 
    • You will have a scrap on your hands when you wrestle someone in a purple and gold Panther singlet. 
  • Michigan's Daniel Cardenas was absolutely monstrous, winning all of his bouts by bonus. 
    • Cardenas pinned his finals opponent in a tilt, which along with a blast double, are the only two moves Cardenas claims he needs (though he does so facitiously, for the record). 
    • Michigan finished in seventh place as a team.
  • Stanford placed eighth with a very young team that is only losing two starters next season. Coach Chris Ayres' Cardinal are going to be dangerous for a long time.
  • Purdue, West Virginia, and Cal Poly also each had individual champs, though they finished outside the top eight as teams. 
    • Boilermaker Matt Ramos looks like he could be the guy to finally establish some order amidst the chaos that was 125 pounds last season. 
    • Peyton Hall will go down as the quintessential Mountaineer of the Tim Flynn era, having been one of his earliest recruits and then staying in Morgantown to qualify for at least four (and possibly five) NCAAs and reaching the podium at least twice (and possibly thrice) in his career. 
    • California native Zeth Romney had the breakout performance of the tournament. The Mustang went 0-2 at NCAAs last season, but is off to a hot start that would suggest an offseason level jump. Romney is 9-1 with six ranked wins on the season. He beat #19, #11 and #6 at the CKLV. His only loss on the season was 5-3 to Stanford's Tyler Knox, who was in the CKLV bracket that Romney just won. Keep an eye on Zeth Romney if you aren't already doing so!
    • Here is some Romney wizardry from the finals if you missed it. 

I have plenty more to discuss about Vegas and its environs but I'll save them FRL or twitter or I'll just mumble it to myself. 

Other Things Happened

  • The BIG IVY Trophy Belongs To Rutgers, which defeated its instate rivals, Princeton.
    • Nothing improves a rivalry like a good trophy. 
  • Lock Haven defeated Wisconsin, though Wisconsin defeated both Bucknell and Bloomsburg during its tour through the Keystone State. 
  • Zan Fuggit had a particularly fruitful trip, beating both #25 Kurt Phipps and #13 Anthony Noto
  • Noto did register a win over All-American Dylan Shawver, so his week had its pluses and minuses for the two-time All-American. 
  • The Big Ten Network held the inaugural Big Ten Takedown in Indianapolis on the same weekend as the Big Ten Football Championship game.
  • The Iowa Hawkeyes won two Uncivil Wars against Princeton and Army!
    • Journeymen Wrestling hosted another excellent event that saw Iowa throttle Princeton and then fend off an insurgent Army squad in two duals in St. Charles, Missouri.
    • It was also Tom Brands' 300th win as head coach of the Hawks!
  • Minnesota cleaned up at the Cougar Clash, winning eight of 10 without the services of Gable Steveson.
  • Cornell's second-semester-only crew of Chris Foca and Julian Ramirez wrestled at the A Better Way Athletics Open hosted by George Mason.
    • Foca lost in the finals to Maryland's Jaxon Smith, now at 184 after two NCAA qualifying seasons at 197, and Ramirez finished atop the podium with a win over GMU's ranked Evan Maag. 
  • Remember I said we shouldn't be surprised anymore when Little Rock does things like beat other good teams in dual meets? Well, here's another thing you shouldn't be surprised to see happen: Little Rock thumped Central Michigan 27-15 with multiple Trojan starters competing at the Cougar Clash. So you don't have to be surprised but you can be impressed!

Heavy Metal Matness

Inspired by an FRL question, I made the topic of picking D1 programs and explaining what heavy metal bands they would be a feature of the roundup. I chose to do so because I like both wrestling and heavy metal music. I will continue to do so until I get bored of the idea or a deadline crunch forces me to jettison any superfluous material from this blog.

Today, I will compare the Missouri Tigers to Rush.

Canada's greatest export is both universally recognized as one of the greatest bands ever yet are still underappreciated. And fine, they're not typically considered metal but whatever, Rush transcends rock genres and I don't really care anyway. 

Similarly, everyone knows Missouri has been excellent for decades, but still, they seem to slip under the radar. Mizzou's primary conference is also the SEC, which, in the wrestling world, is a bit like being from Canada. 

Rush toured and recorded albums with the same members (Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart, all legends) for 40 years, an eternity of consistency in the rock and roll biz. 

Brian Smith has been the head coach of the Tigers since 1998, which doesn't seem that long ago to me, but actually is a very long tenure and an astounding accomplishment in and of itself (and we wish Coach Smith many more successful years as head coach!).

Finally, it's fun to name your favorite Rush songs (Red Barchetta! Spirit of the Radio! Freewill! Subdivisions! Stick it Out!) just as it's fun to name Missouri wrestling greats (Ben Askren! Max Askren! J'den Cox! Keegan O'Toole! Mark Bader!). 

Listen to Rush and watch Missouri Wrestling in my opinion. 

What Would YOU Like To See In This Blog? 

It wouldn’t exist with you so I implore you to provide feedback! 

Send all suggestions, requests, commendations and condemnations to me at [andrew.spey@flosports.tv]. I’m also usually available on Twitter (@speywrestle). News that you'd like to see in this blog is the most appreciated feedback, but proofreading and spell-checking assistance is also welcome! Pobody's nerfect, least of all your humble blogger! 

Thanks for spending a few minutes with the Roundup! Every second you spend on this website is very much appreciated!