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 January 15, 2022.
Portillo brothers hot dog their way into overtime
One of the most intriguing matchups that I can ever remember took place on Saturday in Kearney, Nebraska. Twins Justin and Josh Portillo have both had solid collegiate careers with seven All-American honors between the Iowa natives. On Saturday, P1 and P2 as they’re dubbed, actually put the bragging rights on the line and met head-to-head in dual meet competition. Justin, a four-time All-American at NAIA powerhouse Grand View, squared up with Josh, a three-time All-American at Nebraska-Kearney. The kicker? The dual’s outcome came down to their match. The kick in the pants? Grand View was riding a win streak of 111 dual meet wins in a row and the fifth-ranked team in Division II were looked to be the toughest challenge to the streak in some time.
I told you all that to tell you this – it was one of the nation’s best dual meets of the season. Carson Taylor’s come-from-behind victory over past Division II finalist Wesley Dawkins and Owen Braungardt’s come-from-behind fall over Hayden Prince at 197 provided the key wins for Grand View to preserve the streak and come away with a 19-18 win. The dual’s final bout, the matchup between the twins, was a fun one as the two traded leads, got creative and ultimately decided seven minutes wasn’t enough. Josh prevailed 12-10 in sudden victory. It was great for wrestling – let’s hope everyone who follows the sport takes notice, because the streak AND the twins putting it on the line, was not something that happens every day.
What a ruuuuuuuuush!
With apologies to Hawk and Animal, No. 24 South Dakota State went 2-0 on Saturday after arriving at the Virginia Duals and beating Chattanooga 35-10 and Maryland 28-6. The Jackrabbits improved to 7-1 and have hustled to put duals on the schedule. Coach Damion Hahn tweeted on Saturday that they could have sat back and accepted the cancellations and been 2-1. The efforts to find matches have them ranked, too. The other Road Warriors, and we don’t mean Droz and Heidenreich, were the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven. LHU wrestled twice in Virginia on Friday, then headed up to Bloomsburg and beat the host Huskies and California Baptist. By the way, the late Road Warrior Animal is a graduate of Irondale High School … in New Brighton, Minnesota, where you always know the weather.
Just in Case Western
Josh Malave took over the Case Western Reserve wrestling program in April of last year. This week saw the Spartans take the mat for its first three duals of the season after wrestling a number of tournaments and invitationals. Malave, who previously was the head coach at Mount Union, picked up his first win as the head coach in Cleveland with a 27-16 win over Hiram. History lesson: Case Western Reserve was formed when Case Institute of Technology merged with Western Reserve University back in 1967. Both schools, once upon a time, had wrestling. And a reminder to Augsburg wrestling fans, Case Western Reserve is not on the East Coast, unless they mean the East Coast of Lake Erie. Wait for it. Case Western split duals on the day, losing to, Lake Erie College.
A title no one wants for long
Army West Point assistant coach Scott Green likes to call his squad #AmericasTeam. One thing he and head coach Kevin Ward are still looking for with his well-traveled squad this year is a win. The Black Knights fell to 0-6 on the year, falling to No. 13 Cornell 28-10. Is Army West Point the best winless team in the country? Well, that’s a dubious distinction, but here’s something to consider – all six Army losses are to ranked teams.
#1 Iowa (36-7)
#2 Penn State (32-7)
#12 Rutgers (26-9)
#13 Cornell (28-10)
#13 Iowa State (25-9)
#21 Pittsburgh (29-10)
Bonus Points
Castleton’s Chance LaPier went 2-0 and earned his 99th and 100th wins of his career, becoming just the third Spartan wrestler to accomplish the feat in the school’s wrestling history. LaPier pinned New England College’s Nathan Philion in 45 seconds to notch the historic win. Castleton beat New Jersey City University 38-3 and New England College 40-12. …
We’ve mentioned two Spartans already, so let’s see how far you’ll read to see if you can find the third reference, which is here. The Spartans of Michigan State picked off No. 12 Purdue 17-16 on criteria to improve to 6-1. Sparty won on the third criteria, most match points, which my unscientific opinion will claim is the most common way college match criterias are decided. Back-to-back ranked wins by Layne Malczewski and Cameron Caffey were YUGE.
Ohio native Gage Braun started his wrestling career at Northern Illinois, but transferred to warmer climates in the offseason. Braun won his only bout on Saturday with a technical fall over Hastings’ Henry Jones in Southeastern University’s 37-6 win. Braun has seen significant success, with two of this three losses coming against D1 competition at 197 pounds. At heavyweight, he’s 2-1, with a one-point loss to returning All-American Patrick DePiazza of the University of the Cumberlands. Braun will be a threat in the postseason, whichever weight he competes. …
Buffalo won its fourth straight dual in a row by completing its sweep of Long Island, beating Hofstra 27-13. … Campbellsville’s women ran through Brewton-Parker in women’s college action, 30-3.
Find a typo? Lemme know. This gets written one-time through around 1 a.m. nightly.
