November 3, 2021
1. Tough debuts
We saw a handful of schools make their official debuts or their returns to the college mats on Wednesday. It didn’t go so well on the mats, but it showed the sports growth is evident. Starting with the women, Limestone spoiled the debut of Emory & Henry in Emory, Virginia, which is tucked down in Southwestern Virginia 36-5. It was supposed to also be the debut of Lincoln Memorial’s men’s and women’s teams, but they didn’t make the trip over to Emory, which left the men’s team without it’s first home dual of the year and just second dual since starting the program. Emory & Henry, which is in the process of transitioning from Division III to Division II, wrestled Averett in one dual last year before opting out of the season. Alfred State spoiled Elmira’s mat debut. The Soaring Eagles fell 53-3. Elmira’s women’s team made their debut as well, falling to East Stroudsburg 30-10.
In Division III, Carthage returned to wrestling and fell 52-0 to Millikin and 30-24 to MSOE in a couple of duals within the CCIW.
2. SoCon roughing up the non-D1s down south
The Citadel and Campbell started off their seasons with resounding wins over non-Division I opponents on Wednesday. In Charleston, The Citadel beat Division II Queens 30-10 with falls being registered by Ben Stemmett at 197 and Michael McAleavey at 285. McAleavey was the nation’s leading pinner last season in Division I, but I learned that the Schalles Award in college doesn’t go to the guy with the most pins, it goes to the best pinner – whatever that actually means. Across the border up in Buies Creek, Campbell showed its depth in a 47-6 win over NAIA Montreat, a second-year program.
3. D3 getting a leg up on D2
A couple of Division III schools got one over on in-state Division II opponents on Wednesday. As expected, Tommy Bloodround – not his real name – and Kevin Claunch from the Bloodround Wrestling Podcast – saw Division III Alma beat Division II Davenport in Grand Rapids 24-17. In the Keystone State, Division III Elizabethtown toppled Division II Shippensburg 38-3, much to the delight of Fantasy Wrestling Guru and Mat Talk Podcast Network Patron Tony DiMarco. E-Town picked up a fall from Domenic Rodriguez at 133 pounds and five major decisions along the way. All nine Camel wins came via bonus, with a pair of forfeits, three technical falls, two majors and two falls. Both schools also utilized the extra countable matches, getting nine extra individual bouts in, with Campbell winning seven of them.
4. Chad Hanke named head coach at Linfield
Former Oregon State wrestler Chad Hanke was named the new men’s and women’s coach on Wednesday at Linfield College in Oregon. Linfield announced its return to wrestling last month, reviving the men’s program and launching a women’s one as well. Hanke was a two-time NCAA qualifier and had coaching stops at CSU Bakersfield, American and his alma mater prior to taking the post.
5. Shut them down, shut them out
Of the 12 men’s duals wrestled on Wednesday night, a quarter of them were shutouts. For those of you mathematically challenged, and that is me, that means three. Division III Millikin claimed two of them, blanking MSOE 52-0 as well as the aforementioned win over Carthage. The other came in the NAIA where Central Methodist of Missouri topped Missouri Baptist 51-0.
Just a handful of duals on Thursday with two of them intra-divisional matchups as Bakersfield College takes on NAIA Vanguard and Division II Belmont Abbey heads to Gardner-Webb. West Liberty faces Pitt-Johnstown in a dual that could set the tone for the season out east in Division II, while Simpson, the one in Iowa, takes on Cornell, the one in Iowa.
