NCAA Week 1 Roundup
NCAA Week 1 Roundup
The NCAA season is officially underway, and while not every team was in action this weekend, we still had plenty of storylines to follow.
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Week 1 of the NCAA wrestling season was a soft launch into this unusual year, but even though there were limited teams in action, we still had a number of interesting stories to follow. Some of those were related to results, but others gave us insight into how this anomalous season could end up looking. If you're interested in pure results, check out our box scores. Here are a few of the week's top stories.
We Only Recently Got Schedules & Rosters
NCAA schedules and rosters generally trickle out during the first half of each school's fall semester. That was not the case this year. In fact, we had to wait until last week, the first week of the season, to know where and when many teams would be competing.
The good news is that we have that information now. Our man JD Rader has put together a 2021 Master D1 Schedule along with a hub that has every D1 starting lineup.
COVID-19 Cancelations Will Be a Factor
In a year rife with event cancelations, it's only fitting that the first scheduled dual meet of the year didn't happen due to COVID-19 related issues. North Carolina and Campbell were scheduled to square off on Friday, January 1, but the match was postponed to an undetermined future date.
This served as a reminder that this season will continue to be impacted by conditions largely outside of the athletes' control. It will be fascinating to see what matchups this impacts throughout the year.
An update regarding our match tonight versus Campbell. ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/S04PBgb6SL
— UNC Wrestling (@UNCWrestling) January 1, 2021
Throw Conventional Competition Out The Window
It's no surprise that events this season barely resemble what we would expect in a typical year. No tournaments, matches on a side mat, and makeshift tournaments have been long-rumored, but we finally got to see that in action this week. Here's a snapshot of what we saw:
First of all, Chattanooga, Iowa State, and Central Michigan dualed non D1 teams. This isn't unheard of in a typical year, but it also isn't typical.
In a year that was to be tournament-free, opening weekend had makeshift, non-dual "tournaments" at Appalachian State, Bucknell, and Cal Poly. These allowed teams to get individuals as many as 4 matches in some cases.
The duals that did happen had "extra" matches that accounted for nearly as many bouts as the duals themselves. In 11 duals between d1 teams, we saw 110 bouts while the "extra" matches accompanying those duals made up 92 bouts. If you're curious, those two categories combined don't equal the 218 buts that happened in a "tournament" format. Don't be surprised to see coaches tinker with event formats as this season goes along.
Andonian Notches Season's First Top-Ten Upset
The first top-ten upset of the season came on Saturday when Virginia Tech's #20 Bryce Andonian took out Campbell's #9 (141) Josh Heil in a wild 12-9 decision. It's not shocking to see 20+ points on the board in an Andonian match, but the big win is a positive sign for Hokie fans.
If Andonian can consistently put up wins like this, he'll have a huge impact on VT's chances at a trophy this year. He'll have a massive test in a couple of weeks as the Hokies head to Chapel Hill where he'll see #2 Austin O'Connor.
Missouri's Lineup Could Be In Flux For A While
The Missouri Tigers are two-men deep at a few weights which led to questions about who we would see on opening weekend in their duals against NDSU, SDSU, and Oregon State. Coach Smith left his options open at 125, 141, and 157, and for the most part, his athletes didn't make his decision any easier.
At 141, #17 Alan Hart got the start against #19 Grant Willits and #25 Clay Carlson. He pinned Willits in 36 seconds and majored Carlson 14-4. Josh Edmond got a start against NDSU's Dylan Droegemueller and had two extra matches as well. He went 3-0 with a major, a 5 point decision, and a 7 point decision.
The biggest question mark comes at 157 where Missouri has #13 Jarrett Jacques as well as Keegan O'Toole, the #2 recruit in the class of 2020. Jacques had ranked decisions over #15 Jared Franek and #19 Hunter Willits While O'Toole pinned #17 Cade DeVoss in the first period and teched Jack Thomsen.
The one weight that might have offered a little clarity is 125 where Connor Brown beat Brandon Kaylor and #24 Danny Vega and Noah Surtin went 1-1 with a win over Ryan Henningson but a loss to Tanner Jordan.
ASU Dominates, Shows Fresh Faces In Lineup
Arizona State took nine out of ten from Little Rock in their dual on Saturday, and they did so with the help of a couple of key transfers. At 133, #15 Michael McGee, formerly of Old Dominion, majored Paul Bianchi while at 141 Peter LiPari, formerly of Rutgers and Rider, beat Conner Ward 6-0. Both McGee and LiPari are NCAA qualifiers who could really bolster the Sun Devil's chances this year.
Cohlton Schultz got his first varsity action at heavyweight, and Anthony Valencia looked solid in his first varsity match down at 165 since 2018. Trey Munoz was not yet in action for ASU, but he'll be interesting to follow this year.
Metz Magic Gives NDSU the W Over Oregon State
NDSU's dual against Oregon State was the closest of opening weekend, and it finished in dramatic fashion. Metz, who doesn't mind throwing caution to the wind from time to time, found himself in a 7-7 overtime bout with the dual on the line. After flirting with danger in the form of an edge of the mat throw attempt, Metz was able to finish a double leg to secure the win for himself and the Bison. You really should watch the end of that match.
Northern Colorado Tops Wyoming in 5-5 Split
Wyoming hosted Northern Colorado in a dual with a massive momentum swing. The Bears took the first five bouts and had falls from Jace Koelzer, Andrew Alirez, and Nick Knutson. Cole Moody swung things back in the Cowboys' direction with a fall of his own at 165, and Wyoming won the remaining matches in the dual. Northern Colorado's bonus points proved to be too much though, and the Bears beat their rivals to the north by a final score of 24-19.
Wyoming did get the better of the three ranked matchups in the dual as #21 Tate Samuelson got a win over #19 Alan Clothier after falling to him three times last year, #18 Stephen Buchanan beat #19 Jacob Seely to improve to 2-1 in their series, and #9 Brian Andrews majored #11 Dalton Robertson for the third time in as many matches.
In overtime and at the buzzer! 💥@TateSamuelson knocks off No. 19 Clothier!
— Wyoming Cowboy Wrestling (@WyoWrestle) January 3, 2021
Wyoming 12 | UNC 24 pic.twitter.com/jzpH0cblrZ