Jason Bryant’s College Wrestling Wrap Sheet is a look at five topics from the world of college wrestling with highlights, things you know and things you don’t. Here’s the five for November 21, 2021.
- Lehigh knocks off Pitt at Grace
We’ll start to see some teams sliding up and down this week’s coaches poll as Lehigh knocked off No. 15 Pittsburgh 26-9 at historic Grace Hall. Did you know that Lehigh didn’t actually have an official nickname until 1995? The school known for its Engineering programs was formerly informally called the Engineers up until the official adoption of the name. Two key wins helps push Lehigh past its Western Pennsylvania rival. The first was Malyke Hines’ late fall over fifth-ranked Micky Phillippi. The account from Lehigh SID Steve Lomangino: “Hines scored a takedown in the first period and then led 4-2 in the third period following a reversal. Phillippi escaped and then scored a takedown of his own to go up 5-4 late, but Hines went headhunting late in the bout and was able to hold Phillippi down with referee Scott Bricker calling the fall at 6:57.” I like how Steve gives the official credit in his wrap up. The second big win was Brian Meyer’s 4-3 triumph over returning NCAA finalist Jake Wentzel. Meyer scored takedowns in the first and third to earn the win. - North Carolina over Campbell, Heil over Sherman. Heels win close ones.
The weekend’s final dual came in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as the No. 13 Tar Heels fended off a capable challenge from Campbell 24-12. The Camels were fresh off an ACC win over Virginia. The top match between ranked individuals had an anti-climactic sudden victory ending as Zach Sherman was penalized for an illegal headbutt at the start of the second sudden victory which allowed Campbell’s Josh Heil to pick up the 2-1 win at 149 pounds. Key victories by Clay Lautt at 174 pounds and Gavin Kane at 184 pounds gave the Heels the lift they needed to pull away and ice the dual. Carolina won the third period in those key swing weights. - Carr avoids getting Robb-ed at Daktronics
Nebraska’s Peyton Robb had an interesting week. Just days after beating returning NCAA Champion Austin O’Conner, Robb met his second NCAA champion in five days. Iowa State’s David Carr rallied in the third period and then scored the match-winning takedown in sudden victory to win the championship at the Daktronics/Warren Williamson Open in Brookings, South Dakota. There were a handful of early season “what the” matches, including Brody Teske of Northern Iowa getting upset by Corey Cabanban of Iowa State. North Dakota State’s Michael Caliendo won at 165, beating Tanner Cook of SDSU and Austin Kraisser of Iowa State. All-American Mikey Labriola won at 174 pounds. Northern Iowa All-American Parker Keckeisen topped Iowa State’s Marcus Coleman, who beat Nebraska All-American Taylor Venz at 184. Nebraska’s Silas Allred won at 197 pounds. In the semis, he was trailing Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida in the 3rd, when Allred caught him on his back as Bastida tried to roll out of a takedown attempt. Allred settled and pinned Bastida, but then made good on his finals appearance by pinning South Dakota State’s Nick Casperson. Allred is a finisher for sure. - Quakers lead the way at 25th Keystone
Penn won the 25th annual Keystone Classic at The Palestra, which actually translates to House of Wrestling. The Quakers placed 10 in the top three in the multi-entry event. Penn’s champs were Michael Coliacoco at 133, Carmen Ferrante at 141, Cole Urbas at 197 and Ben Goldin at 285. Appalachian State had two champs – Caleb Smith at 125 and All-American Jonathan Milner at 149 pounds. Harvard, George Mason, Rider and Drexel also had individual champs. - Women’s Open Roundup
A day after the top individual women’s open concluded, there were a pair of women’s tournaments to pay attention to on Sunday. At Lindenwood, the host Lions won three individual titles as Cayden Condit won at 123, Athena Wilden earned top honors at 136 and Sara Lake won at 165 pounds. Sacred Heart’s Madison Sandquist won her second college tournament in a row, taking the title at 143 pounds. … In Spokane at the Spokane Open, Simon Fraser dominated, talking home eight individual championships. In case you’re geographically challenged, Simon Fraser is in British Columbia, which is in Canada. They do the freestyle pretty good up there.
