On Friday night just after 9 p.m. ET, Ohio State’s Nick Feldman electrified the Covelli Center in one of the biggest moments of the college wrestling weekend.
With the dual against Michigan on the line and his match against two-time All-American Lucas Davison tied 1-1 early in the third, Feldman spun around, brought Davison to the mat and scored a critical three-point takedown against the Wolverine. Davison looked to retaliate and took a few half-shots in the final minute, but as time ticked down and Feldman fended off his efforts, the Ohio State faithful came to their feet. They knew their freshman star had won his bout and won the dual for the Bucks.
Feldman’s win demonstrated that he’s an All-American threat, and his result will skyrocket him in the rankings.
But this match, and Ohio State’s subsequent win over Michigan, wasn’t the only storyline of the weekend.
🗣️ A new legend in the Buckeye singlet was just made.
— Big Ten Wrestling (@B1GWrestling)
We're taking another look at Nick Feldman's dramatic dub to send to a comeback win over rival Michigan.
Between Little Rock’s victory over Oregon State, Vito Arujau’s return, Cornell’s toppling of Missouri and so much more, the last three days in college wrestling produced tons of storylines.
Here’s a complete breakdown of the seven biggest moments (in addition to Ohio State’s win over Michigan) that stand out from a weekend of high-intensity action in dozens of duals.
High schooler Jax Forrest shakes up collegiate expectations at 125
The 125-pound weight class is wild. It’s a known fact, and it’s been the biggest storyline all year.
Last week, Matt Ramos became the headliner at the weight after stopping Iowa’s Drake Ayala in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and teching Alan Koehler of Nebraska. Ramos notched another win over the weekend by way of a tight 8-6 decision against Michael Spangler to hold on to his No. 1 spot, but the rankings beneath him will shift once again as the No. 2 spot, in particular, potentially opens up.
BREAKING DOWN RAMOS' BIG WIN LAST YEAR: Here's how the Boilermaker upset 3x NCAA champ Spencer Lee
Lehigh’s Luke Stanich, a true freshman, held that No. 2 spot earlier this week after putting together an 10-1 record through January 13 with wins over No. 3 Eric Barnett, No. 6 Cooper Flynn and No. 13 Brett Ungar. He was quietly accumulating an exceptionally impressive record and looking like he could compete for a national title.
Let’s be clear: Stanich is still that guy. His wins are still valuable, and his skills are still top notch.
But Stanich’s No. 2 spot in the country is in question after the Mountain Hawk suffered a loss to high school sophomore Jax Forrest in the finals of the Mat Town Open II in sudden victory.
Forrest isn’t the only high schooler to beat a top-ranked 125-pounder. Ramos himself lost to Marcus Blaze earlier this year in a performance that, much like Stanich’s, won’t impact his college record but can impact confidence. Ramos took three additional losses in the month following his Blaze match, but he’s been on a winning streak since then and hasn’t dropped a bout since Dec. 1. Stanich will similarly have the chance to get himself back on track with two more ranked matches against No. 32 Ethan Berginc of Army and No. 10 Richie Figueroa of Arizona State before the conference tournament. He’ll remain the highest-ranked EIWA wrestler, and a conference championship could give him a big advantage in NCAA seeding.
If Stanich drops in the rankings (which isn’t a guarantee since his loss to Forrest doesn’t count as a college loss), Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett could be considered for the No. 2 spot. The Badger All-American went 2-0 on the weekend with wins over No. 12 Caleb Smith 5-3 and Tristan Lujan 4-2. Barnett’s only losses are to Iowa State’s Kysen Terukina — who split his matches this weekend with a win over Conrad Hendrickson and loss to No. 20 Troy Spratley — and, ironically, Stanich.
125: Eric Barnett vs Caleb Smith
— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling)
Beyond Barnett, No. 4 Braeden Davis, No. 5 Drake Ayala, No. 6 Cooper Flynn and No. 7 Noah Surtin all went undefeated on the weekend. In fact, the only upset beyond Stanich’s within the top 10 came from Northern Colorado’s No. 17 Stevo Poulin, as he topped No. 8 Jore Volk 3-1. Volk and Poulin will likely meet again in the Big 12 tournament, an event in which Poulin won last year as a redshirt freshman. But winning the tournament this year, given the chaos of the weight, will be even more important for NCAA seeding.
The intrigue around 125 pounds continues into next week too, as No. 5 Drake Ayala vs. No. 15 Michael DeAugustino face off Friday night and Surtin takes on Spratley on Sunday. No. 10 Richie Figueroa of Arizona State and No. 15 Brandon Kaylor of Oregon State could also wrestle Sunday, along with the biggest match of the weekend: No. 1 Ramos vs. No. 3 Barnett that same day.
Every week brings new excitement at this weight, and the next seven days will likely be no exception.
NCAA champions Vito Arujau, Shane Griffith and Keegan O’Toole showcase grit and wrestling IQ in narrow victories
Nothing is guaranteed in college wrestling, and if the madness at 125 pounds didn’t prove it, three close matches involving former NCAA champions does.
Keegan O’Toole, the NCAA’s midseason most dominant wrestler, had a 100% bonus rate at 165 pounds and a win over a top-5 athlete at 174 pounds heading into this weekend. He was looking like an early Hodge Trophy contender (with the recognition that he still hadn’t wrestled 2021 NCAA champion David Carr yet) and someone hungry for his third national title.
FROM LAST CHANCE TO RETURNING CHAMP: The Shane Griffith story
West Virginia’s Peyton Hall, however, didn’t care about these accolades. He came out firing in his match against O’Toole on Friday night, scoring the first two takedowns and running up an 6-1 lead over the Tiger leader in the first period. O’Toole was in trouble.
A takedown in the second period put O’Toole back in striking distance, but he entered the third period trailing, a position he has not been in all season. O’Toole remained fearless and focused. He took down Hall early in the third to take the lead and held him down, riding out the Mountaineer to secure the win.
No. 1 completes the comeback and secures the 8-7 decision. x 🎥 ESPN+ /
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling)
O’Toole wasn’t the only former national champion to have a scare though. 2021 NCAA champion Shane Griffith entered the third period of his match against Ohio State’s Rocco Welsh tied 1-1 and needed a rideout, or a takedown if he let Welsh escape, to win the match. Griffith stepped up and held Welsh down. Unlike O’Toole, Griffith has already taken a loss this year, but he hasn’t lost within the Big Ten, so he could still fight for a bye in the first round of the conference tournament, if he makes it past Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy, Nebraska’s Bubba Wilson and Indiana’s DJ Washington, though all three of those athletes are tough.
Like Griffith, Cornell's NCAA champion Vito Arujau has also already taken a loss earlier this year and nearly took another one over the weekend but found a way to squeak out the win in a key bout for his team. Against Missouri’s Kade Moore — someone who already upset two-time NCAA All-American Sam Latona via pin earlier this year — Arujau trailed 7-2 after the first period and picked up just a lone escape point in the second period to carry a four-point deficit into the third. He needed a big third period, and that’s exactly what he created.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS: Arujau's 2023 world championship was one of the biggest stories from last year
The Cornell veteran and 2023 world champion picked up two takedowns and the riding time point to secure the win, but the process was anything but easy.
Moore, Welsh and Hall all proved this weekend, in their bouts against former champs, that they are not athletes to overlook. They are going to cause some problems in their brackets, both at the conference level and likely at the national level as well.
A full-strength Big Red program is dangerous
Arujau may have had a close match in his bout against Moore, but his return still brought a huge boost to a Big Red program that had been ranked as high as but has recently slipped to No. 14. With the 2023 national champion back in the lineup, Cornell rallied past No. 2 Missouri, 20-16, in a result that will likely put the Big Red back in the top 10 and improve their chances for a trophy quest in March.
The dual did not start out well for Cornell though, as No. 13 Brett Ungar suffered a fall against No. 7 Noah Surtin at 125 pounds — the most unpredictable weight of the season. Moore then gave Arujau everything he had in the 10-9 match that went Cornell’s way at 133 pounds before the Big Red found their rhythm. No. 13 Vince Cornella notched a ranked win over No. 23 Josh Edmond, 9-6, and Ethan Fernandez topped Zeke Seltzer 4-0 at 149 pounds.
Fernandez’s win gave Cornell the lead, and true freshman Meyer Shapiro expanded it. In a statement performance against three-time All-American Brock Mauller, Shapiro pulled out the 14-4 major for his second bonus win over a former podium finisher. Shapiro will now have just two more ranked opponents on this schedule — No. 23 Lucas Revano of Penn and No. 7 Ed Scott of N.C. State — before EIWAs, with the latter of those two potentially posing the biggest threat. Within the EIWA though, Shapiro looks like a championship-caliber athlete and someone ready to make some noise on the national stage.
SUNDAY SHOCK WAVES.
— Ivy League (@IvyLeague)
No. 14 takes down No. 2 Missouri in front of a raucous Newman Arena crowd. The dual was clinched on this pivotal 4-0 Jacob Cardenas win at 197 pounds. 🌿🤼♂️
Speaking of top-level athletes though, Missouri has a few of their own, and nearly all those All-American did step up in the back-half of this dual and do their best to keep the team score close. Two-time NCAA champion Keegan O’Toole put up an impressive major decision against Julian Ramirez of Cornell, Peyton Mocco stopped Evan Canoyer 8-2 and Zach Elam ended the dual with an individual win after a 2-1 victory against Lewis Fernandez. The problem for Missouri though was that Cornell’s Chris Foca and Jacob Cardenas came to scrap. At 184 pounds, Foca dominated No. 11 Clayton Whiting 14-1 one match before Cardenas upset All-American Rocky Elam to give Cornell the 20-13 lead. Zach Elam, Missouri’s anchor, would have needed a pin to win it, so while his 2-1 win gave him the individual W, it wasn’t enough to secure the team victory.
This dual says more about Cornell than Missouri, as both of these teams are still tough enough to be nationally-competitive programs come March. The question will be: which team can get the most out of every single ranked athlete on their roster? In a national tournament that will come down to each individual match, every athlete matters.
Young Cowboy stars elevate Oklahoma State into trophy contention with win over Cyclones, Panthers
Cornell isn’t the only team that notched a big, critical win this weekend. The Oklahoma State Cowboys also secured two key Ws, as they took down Northern Iowa and Iowa State at home by scores of 22-12 and 21-12 respectively. The Iowa State win is particularly notable, given the depth and strength of the Cyclones this year. These results ultimately prove that this is not the same Oklahoma State team that took 17th last season. This is an Oklahoma State team capable of finishing in the top three in the country.
So what helped the Cowboys make this jump? Much of the success can be attributed to a few stellar underclassmen.
Let’s start with Troy Sprately. The redshirt freshman lightweight is 14-4 on the year at 125 pounds, and his wins over Kysen Terukina of Iowa State and Trever Anderson of Northern Iowa give him two more ranked victories at a weight where any ranked win is critical. Sprately’s tough, and he’s a great sparkplug for a team that knows it has a reliable winner in the next weight class as well, with No. 3 senior Daton Fix consistently putting up points regardless of his opponent. Fix majored Iowa State’s No. 7 Evan Frost and Northern Iowa’s No. 23 Julian Farber on back-to-back days and now holds a bonus rate of 87.5% percent. If he can run the table at his weight, he’ll be a Hodge contender, though he will likely see Arujau, Lehigh’s Ryan Crookham or both at NCAAs, and those two could pose a problem for the Cowboy leader.
BEDLAM: Here's how Oklahoma State powered past Oklahoma behind stellar freshman stars
Fix is someone that consistently puts momentum on Oklahoma State’s side in duals heading into 141 pounds where the Cowboys have another freshman, Tagen Jamison, in the lineup. Jamison split his bouts this weekend, dropping to Cael Happel of Northern Iowa but picking up a big, clutch win over No. 8 Anthony Echemendia in sudden victory. To have the kind of poise needed to go find a takedown in a match against Echemendia with the team score on the line shows impressive maturity from Jaimson on the mat. Jaimson’s schedule the rest of the dual season will continue to test him, as he’ll have to take on No. 23 Josh Edmond on February 4, All-American Clay Carlson on February 10, No. 22 Mosha Schwartz on February 18 and then No. 1 Real Woods on February 25. Jamison has competed tough against podium finishers already this year, beating Pitt’s Cole Matthews 8-2 and topping Nebraska’s Brock Hardy 13-5. He’s a competitor, and he’ll be a big part of Oklahoma State’s push towards a higher team finish at nationals.
The Cowboys picked up a third win from a freshman on Sunday against Iowa State, as Jersey Robb, an Oklahoma native, beat No. 29 Julien Broderon by major to ice the dual for Oklahoma State. Robb is currently redshirting, backing up Dustin Plott at 184 pounds, but he slid up to 197 pounds in place of Luke Surber for big teams points. Robb did drop his bout against Northern Iowa, giving him a 1-3 record on the year, but he still has one more available dual that he can wrestle without sacrificing his redshirt, so Oklahoma State could give the young athlete another shot on the main stage later this season to collect more data points on his potential.
Jersey. Danger. Robb.
— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)
Remember the name. l
Outside of Jamison, Spratley, Robb and Fix, Oklahoma State also picked up wins from sophomore Teague Travis and senior Dustin Plott against the Cyclones while Jordan Williams, Izzak Olejnik, Brayden Thompson and Konner Doucet notched wins against Northern Iowa.
This compete team performance is a good sign for the winningest wrestling team in NCAA history heading into another tough stretch of the dual schedule.
Cole Matthews, Cael Happel and Patrick Kennedy pick up top-10 wins, show All-American potential
This was a big weekend for upsets, both at the individual and team level, and, for several standout stars, those upsets showed that they have podium potential.
Cole Matthews is perhaps the best example of an athlete who, after another breakout weekend, reinforced that he's not someone to overlook. Matthews has finished as high as fifth at the NCAA tournament in the past, but, after his Round of 12 result last year, he started the season lower in the rankings than is perhaps typical for a U23 world team member.
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Early losses to Josh Koderhandt, Kal Miller and Danny Pucino prevented Matthews from rising initially, but, what makes Matthews so dangerous is his ability to rebound from these losses and knock off title contenders at his weight class. He's shown this ability already this season, beating Ohio State's Jesse Mendez 4-2 and now notching a win over No. 4 Ryan Jack of N.C. State and putting up 15 points in the process.
The Panther veteran now holds a 10-9 record and sits at No. 27 in InterMat's rankings and No. 25 in the coaches rankings. These stats suggest that a top-eight finish would be unexpected, but, with Matthews, sometimes it's best to expect the unexpected. He'll need to stay above .500 and pick up a few more ranked ACC wins to improve his NCAA seed, but, if he can string together multiple ranked wins at the right time, Matthews could be a bracket buster at 141 pounds.
Big moment for 👏
— Pitt Wrestling (@Pitt_WRES)
Top-5 opponent in a packed Fitz?
Just show up and put up 15 points ✅ »
Northern Iowa's Cael Happel will also be fighting for a spot on the podium at 141 pounds, and, after a 2-0 weekend and now a 15-4 overall record, he's looking even more like someone who could bring some hardware back to Cedar Falls. A two-time national qualifier, Happel has been on the outside of the podium spots looking for so far in his career with the Panthers, but his recent decision win against No. 9 Tagen Jamison of Oklahoma State and his first-period tech fall against Kaden Smith of Oklahoma suggest that he's made big gains. Neither of these wins were upsets for Happel, as he's currently ranked No. 6 in the country, but these wins are notable because they demonstrate consistency, a valuable trait at a weight class that is top-heavy with room to break inside the Top 8. Happel has taken a loss to Jack — the same athlete that Matthews beat this weekend — earlier this year, but he hasn't dropped a match yet in 2024. His big tests are still to come against No. 10 Jordan Titus and West Virginia and No. 8 Anthony Echemendia of Iowa State, but his win against Jamison should could Happel and his coaching staff confidence that he's on the right path.
Much like Happel, Iowa's Patrick Kennedy has qualified for the NCAA tournament in the past and been considered an All-American contender but struggled to break through. Now up a weight class at 174 pounds, Kennedy is putting together an solid season that just became even more impressive, as he notched a win over No. 5 Edmond Ruth of Illinois 5-1. The Ruth win was a statement result for the Hawkeye and suggests that he's grown into 174 pounds enough to compete with the best. His ability to score points at this weight will be key for Iowa if the Hawks want to stay in the mix for a team trophy.
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Two more athletes to pay special attention to after this weekend are Indiana's Brayton Lee and Minnesota's Garrett Joles. Lee, a former All-American from 2021, battled injury last season with Minnesota and failed to qualify for the national tournament. He has since transferred to Indiana and holds a 3-0 record, including a win over No. 16 Joey Blaze this weekend. A healthy Lee is a dangerous Lee, and if he can maintain this level of strength as the Big Ten season heats up, he could be a dark horse to watch at 157 pounds.
Joles is also sneaky tough, and after going 15-16 last season, the Gopher is now 13-6 with a recent win over Rutgers' All-American John Poznanski. Joles wrestles everyone, including Big Ten champion Silas Allred and Iowa's undefeated Zach Glazier, tough, and this grittiness can take athletes far in the postseason when every inch and every second matters. Underestimating Joles would be a mistake.
Stanford ends Little Rock’s momentum
The rise of Little Rock has been one of the biggest stories in college wrestling over the last 10 days. The Trojans broke into the NWCA top 25 for the first time in program history on Tuesday when they beat Arizona State, and the team then followed up that performance with a 20-17 win over Oregon State.
Their next opponent, Stanford, wanted to be the team to stop the momentum of the Trojans, and the Cardinal did just that.
Protected the crib 🌲 x
— Stanford Wrestling (@CardWrestling)
Powered behind a pin from Hunter Garvin at 165 pounds and decisions from Nico Provo, Jason Miranda, Jaden Abas, Daniel Cardenas, Tye Monterio and Jack Daraah, the Cardinal topped the Trojans 25-15 in Palo Alto. Little Rock put up a fight though, particularly at the end of the dual, as Stephen Little pinned Nick Stemmet of Stanford at 197 pounds and Josiah Hill majored Jackson Mankowski at heavyweight. The depth of Stanford, though, was too much for Little Rock.
The Cardinal, currently ranked No. 17 in the country, are now undefeated in conference action and will likely surge ahead of Oregon State in the national rankings tomorrow, potentially making Stanford the highest ranking school in the Pac-12.
For Stanford's first-year head coach Chris Ayres, the future is bright.
Returning stars shine bright
So much of the focus so far in the college wrestling season has been on the upsets, simply becuase of the quantity of these results and their shocking nature. But the stars deserve their credit too, and a number of athletes stepped up and delivered for their team in moments that warrant recognition.
Several 2023 conference champs including David Carr, Aaron Brooks, Parker Keckeisen and Dean Hamiti all picked up notable ranked wins over the weekend, with Keckeisen earning the biggest win by way of a 12-6 decision over No. 2 Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State. Keckeisen is now 15-0 on the year with 83+ percent bonus and has positioned himself as the runaway favorite to win a title for the Panthers at 184 pounds.
The main event of tonight’s match is underway.
— Daniel Allen (@danielallen1738)
No. 2 Dustin Plott vs No. 1 Parker Keckeisen of Northern Iowa at 184 pounds.: 19
UNI: 6
Carr, a four-time Big 12 champion, 2021 NCAA champion and two-time national finalist, showed that there's separation between himself — the No. 3 athlete at the weight — and the guy right behind him in his 8-1 win over Izzak Olejnik. Carr has taken a loss earlier this year to Cornell's Julian Ramirez, so he's no longer in contention for the Hodge Trophy, but he does have two career wins over reigning NCAA champion Keegan O'Toole and cannot be removed from the title conversation.
But that championship discussion at 165 pounds is not just limited to Carr, Ramirez and O'Toole though. Wisconsin's Dean Hamiti is making sure he's staying in the mix, and his two ranked wins over No. 9 Caleb Fish and No. 19 Antrell Taylor demonstrate that fact. Hamiti is known for his funk, and while neither of those two decision wins were particularly flashy, they were still wins, and every win counts. Hamiti's only loss this year came via a 2-1 decision against Carr, so he is by no means removed from title consideration.
MIDSEASON AWARDS: O'Toole wins most dominant, Olejnik earns most impactful transfer award
Speaking of talent within the Big Ten, Michigan also has two stars who have been on a run lately: Austin Gomez and Dylan Ragusin. Both athletes picked up top-ten wins in Michigan's team loss to Ohio State, but these individual Ws will be key in conference ranking. Ragusin topped Ohio State's No. 12 Nic Bouzakis by major just one week after pinning All-American Aaron Nagao of Penn State while Austin Gomez stoped Ohio State All-American Dylan D'Emilio to stay undefeated. When Michigan's stars all perform to potential, the Wolverines have a dangerous squad capable to pushing some of the best teams in the country. But even on a night when they drop a rivalry dual, stars like Ragusin and Gomez find their way to shine.
Let's not forget about Penn State though. The Nittany Lions barreled past Maryland 42-6 over the weekend, with Brooks picking up the most notable ranked win in his major decision over Jaxon Smith, proving once again why the Nittany Lions are the No. 1-ranked team in the nation.
