Week 15 Roundup: Rivalry Duals & Title Contender Clashes
Week 15 Roundup: Rivalry Duals & Title Contender Clashes
Week 15 of NCAA wrestling saw a handful of top five matches that foreshadow the looming postseason.
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This weekend was marked by impressive dual meet results and a handful of matchups between NCAA title contenders. Here are the biggest stories from week 15 of NCAA wrestling.
#2 Parris Packs #3 Cassioppi
Two of the top heavyweights in the land met on Saturday night in a dual between Iowa and Michigan. Before the match, many in the wrestling community were split on who the better heavyweight might be.
Parris answered that question convincingly. He took an 8-3 lead on Cassioppi before pinning him late in the second period proving that, at least for now, he's the #1 contender to Gable Steveson.
Mason Parris and Gable Steveson were scheduled to wrestle in a dual in January but Steveson was unavailable for that dual.
Lee and Pletcher Dominate, Set Up Showdown for Next Weekend
Both #2 Nick Lee and #1 Luke Pletcher have been absolutely dominant all season, and this weekend was no exception. Lee majored #4 Tristan Moran on Friday then pinned #5 Mitch McKee on Sunday. Pletcher only had one match, a major decision over Alec McKenna of Northwestern.
Lee and Pletcher have yet to meet in their careers, but they're scheduled to square off in a dual next weekend. The Lee/Pletcher dominance sets up #1 showdown for next Saturday between #3 Ohio State and #2 Penn State. By all accounts, this could be a preview of the NCAA Championship at 141.
3-Time AA Kolodzik Returns, Helps Power Princeton Past Cornell
On Saturday, Matthew Kolodzik, a clear NCAA title contender, returned to action for the Tigers after spending the first part of the season in an Olympic redshirt. His potential points put Princeton in the hunt for an NCAA team trophy.
As massive as that story was, it was overshadowed on Sunday by Princeton's dual meet victory over Cornell who had a 92-dual meet winning streak against Ivy League opponents.
Princeton Wrestling's Twitter account posted this clip that captured the passion of the Princeton bench after the win.
STEFANIK WINS! TIGERS CLINCH! IVY LEAGUE CHAMPIONS!
— Princeton Wrestling (@tigerwrestling) February 9, 2020
Watch the finish here! https://t.co/ldKQszh9mV pic.twitter.com/QbsMZSYyUP
Princeton 19, Cornell 13
125: Pat Glory (Princeton) over Dominic LaJoie (Cornell) (MD 9-0)
133: Charles Tucker (Cornell) over Ty Agaisse (Princeton) (Dec 9-3)
141: Noah Baughman (Cornell) over Marshall Keller (Princeton) (Dec 8-4)
149: Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) over Hunter Richard (Cornell) (Dec 4-2)
157: Quincy Monday (Princeton) over Adam Santoro (Cornell) (Dec 9-7)
165: Grant Cuomo (Princeton) over Jakob Brindley (Cornell) (Dec 8-1)
174: Kevin Parker (Princeton) over Andrew Berreyesa (Cornell) (Dec 10-3)
184: Travis Stefanik (Princeton) over Jonathan Loew (Cornell) (Dec 10-4)
197: Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) over Patrick Brucki (Princeton) (Dec 11-4)
285: Brendan Furman (Cornell) over Aidan Conner (Princeton) (MD 9-0)
#5 NC State Beats Rival #4 UNC, Sets Attendance Record
A record crowd of 4,383 fans showed up on Friday night for NC State's battle with in-state rival North Carolina. The hype around this meeting between two top-five dual meet teams was well justified.
The dual was truly a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded wins through the first seven bouts. When Deonte Wilson and Andrew Gunning took the mat at heavyweight, the dual meet was on the line. Wilson came through for the Wolfpack and ignited the crowd.
There are battles.
— NC State Wrestling ?♂️ (@PackWrestle) February 8, 2020
There are rivalries.
There are @PackWrestle wins!!!#PackMentality pic.twitter.com/uFSUmnnWJ0
NC State 19, North Carolina 14
125: Jakob Camacho (NC State) over Joseph Melendez (North Carolina) (Dec 9-4)
133: Jaime Hernandez (North Carolina) over Jarrett Trombley (NC State) (Dec 1-0)
141: Tariq Wilson (NC State) over Zachary Sherman (North Carolina) (Dec 6-0)
149: Austin O`Connor (North Carolina) over Matt Grippi (NC State) (Dec 6-5)
157: Hayden Hidlay (NC State) over Austin Headlee (North Carolina) (Dec 9-2)
165: Kennedy Monday (North Carolina) over Tyler Barnes (NC State) (TF 21-5 5:19)
174: Daniel Bullard (NC State) over Clay Lautt (North Carolina) (Dec 6-4)
184: Trent Hidlay (NC State) over Joseph Mazzarra (North Carolina) (MD 13-5)
197: Brandon Whitman (North Carolina) over Nick Reenan (NC State) (Dec 7-0)
285: Deonte Wilson (NC State) over Andrew Gunning (North Carolina) (Dec 5-2)
Gross Remains #1 with Wild Win Over RBY
Roman Bravo-Young's match last weekend against Austin DeSanto was cut short due to a DeSanto injury, but the action that did occur suggested that Bravo-Young was ready to compete with anyone at the weight.
He proved that again in a wild match with Wisconsin's #1 Seth Gross. Ultimately, Gross was too much for #4 RBY this time, but Friday's tight battle makes their potential Big Ten rematch extremely compelling. If their rankings predict their seeds, this could be a semifinal.
Michigan State Upsets #9 Wisconsin
The Michigan State Spartans have been on the rise the past few seasons. They entered Sunday's dual against Wisconsin with a 6-9 record after dropping their last four dual meets.
Despite being underdogs, the Spartans took five of 10 matches from the Badgers including a fall and a major decision. Michigan State got three wins in a row from 174 to 197.
Perhaps the biggest match of the night came at 184, where #9 Cam Caffey continued his hot streak with a 6-2 decision over #23 Johnny Sebastian. This dual meet win is an encouraging sign for Spartan fans. Michigan State's remaining duals before the postseason are against Cleveland State on February 16 and Central Michigan on February 21.
Michigan State 19, Wisconsin 17
125: Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over Logan Griffin (Michigan State) (Dec 6-2)
133: Seth Gross (Wisconsin) over Garrett Pepple (Michigan State) (MD 13-2)
141: Matt Santos (Michigan State) over Dominic Dentino (Wisconsin) (MD 16-5)
149: Cole Martin (Wisconsin) over Alex Hrisopoulos (Michigan State) (Dec 7-2)
157: Jake Tucker (Michigan State) over Garrett Model (Wisconsin) (Dec 12-8)
165: Evan Wick (Wisconsin) over Drew Hughes (Michigan State) (MD 10-2)
174: Layne Malczewski (Michigan State) over Jared Krattiger (Wisconsin) (Fall 2:43)
184: Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) over Johnny Sebastian (Wisconsin) (Dec 6-2)
197: Nick May (Michigan State) over Peter Christensen (Wisconsin) (Dec 6-5)
285: Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) over Christian Rebottaro (Michigan State) (Dec 9-2)