Another week, another set of crazy, unexpected, exciting college wrestling results. These are the biggest takeaways from the latest slate of duals and what these results could tell us about breakout national stars and team trophy contenders.
Top Big Ten talent on display as Penn State stays undefeated, Michigan notches key win over Iowa
For the last 16 years, the national championship wrestling team has come from within the Big Ten, a testament to the depth and skill level in the conference. On Friday night, that eliteness was on full display, first in State College and then in Ann Arbor as Penn State roared to a 28-9 win over Ohio State, and Michigan topped No. 2 Iowa, 24-11.
Penn State’s win was expected, as the Blue and White were favored in nine of 10 matches, but the Buckeyes came to battle. Ohio State’s fight and grit served as a key takeaway from the match, despite the result.
The Buckeyes came out firing early, with backup Vinny Kilkeary nearly pulling off the upset against No. 3 Braeden Davis. They then carried that momentum in 133 pounds where No. 12 Nic Bouzakis showed his All-American potential with a 13-7 offensive victory over 2023 fifth-place finisher No. 5 Aaron Nagao. Penn State flipped the switch at 141 pounds, as No. 2 Beau Bartlett won the biggest match of the night, 4-1 over No. 3 Jesse Mendez in overtime. The Nittany Lions then went on to win ranked matches at 149, 157, 165 and 174 pounds before Ohio State silenced Rec Hall with a pin from Ryder Rogotzke over Nittany Lion All-American No. 5 Bernie Truax. Despite the fall, Penn State had already sealed the team victory, and NCAA champion Aaron Brooks and All-American Greg Kerkvliet put an exclamation mark on the night with a tech fall and a major decision against No. 22 Luke Geog and No. 12 Nick Feldman, respectively.
🚨UPSET ALERT🚨
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling)
Unranked true freshman Ryder Rogotzke pins No. 5 Bernie Truax! 📌 x 🎥 BTN /
Ohio State gave Penn State everything it had, but it wasn’t enough. The Buckeyes, however, rebounded with a notable victory over Rutgers on Sunday, 22-12, once again showing their resilience and determination.
Penn State, meanwhile, will look forward to Iowa, a team with just as much depth as Ohio State but one that struggled last weekend in the biggest test of the season against the Michigan Wolverines.
MICHIGAN WRESTLING: Here's how the Wolverines stopped the Hawkeyes in Ann Arbor
In front of its home crowd, Michigan reminded the wrestling world that the Wolverines are still trophy contenders, as the Maize and Blue dominated the Hawkeyes 24-11 behind an upset win from No. 19 Sergio Lemley and bonus points from No. 3 Shane Griffith and No. 6 Lucas Davison. The win was a statement performance for the Wolverines after they took a tough loss against Penn State two weeks prior.
Michigan will have Nebraska next in what will be yet another challenge, but the Wolverines are looking sharp and getting high-level production out of nearly every starter. Dylan Ragusin, in particular, has been a breakout star for the Wolverines this year at 133 pounds and remains undefeated on the season as he chases his first All-American honor in his fourth season with the program.
Oklahoma State continues to rise with dominant wins over Missouri, Arizona State
The biggest storylines this year are far from confined to the Big Ten. In fact, one of the most interesting teams comes from the Big 12: Oklahoma State. The Cowboys, the winningest wrestling team in NCAA history, had a down season last year, finishing 17th, but they have fought their way back into trophy contention this year behind some bright young stars and consistent veteran success.
The Cowboys are coming. And we ain't slowing down. l
— OSU Cowboy Wrestling (@CowboyWrestling)
The headliner for Oklahoma State this weekend was none other than three-time finalist Daton Fix, a staple in the Cowboy lineup and a senior world medalist. No. 3 Fix went 2-0 in this matches against Arizona State and Missouri on Friday and Sunday, topping Sun Devil Julian Chlebove 5-3 and then bumping up to 141 pounds and stopping Missouri’s Josh Edmond 2-1. His strength stood out in both duals, and he looks as ready as ever for his fifth and final attempt at an NCAA title.
Fix, of course, wasn’t the only Cowboy to post two wins over the weekend. Freshman No. 20 Troy Spratley reinforced his status as an All-American contender with two big wins at 125 pounds, the most chaotic weight in the country. His 13-5 major decision win over Arizona State’s No. 11 Richard Figueroa and his 4-1 sudden victory win over Missouri’s No. 7 Noah Surtin highlighted his ability to score points and stay calm under pressure, and these attributes will no doubt serve the young Cowboy well as he navigates through the remainder of his regular season and his first postseason in the lineup. Spratley’s next biggest test will this coming weekend when he wrestles South Dakota State’s No. 17 Tanner Jordan, an athlete he lost to earlier this year 9-8. He’ll also be pushed in his final dual meet of the year against Iowa’s No. 5 Drake Ayala.
BEDLAM: Full breakdown of Oklahoma State's dominant recent history over in-state foe Oklahoma
Spratley does have four losses on the year to Jordan, Wyoming’s No. 10 Jore Volk — who lost this weekend to Jordan — Nebraska’s No. 15 Caleb Smith and Oregon State’s No. 19 Brandon Kaylor. Yet, he seems to be on an upward trajectory, improving every week. Don’t be surprised if Spratley goes on a run in March and busts some brackets.
The key to Oklahoma State’s national success next month will be consistency from its freshman. Spratley has shown impressive composure, as has upperweight No. 25 Brayden Thompson at 174 pounds. Thompson earned “NCAA Wrestler of the Week” honors earlier this year when he beat Oklahoma’s Tate Picklo is his first Bedlam dual, and he since surpassed even that accomplishment. His two wins over the weekend against Cael Valencia and All-American No. 5 Peyton Mocco reveal that Thompson isn’t just someone who can step up on the rare occasion — he’s the complete package and a core point-scorer on this rising Cowboy squad. Much like Spratley, Thompson’s wins came by bonus against Arizona State and in sudden victory against Missouri, and he looked unfazed in both appearances. He adds great strength and momentum into the lineup leaning into 184 pounds where the Cowboys have another dynamic athlete in No. 2 Dustin Plott, a two-time All-American who notched a fall and an 8-2 decision against the Sun Devils and Tigers.
“He’s fun to watch. He’s dangerous.” 🤼♂️
— OSU Max (@osu_max)
Behind the scenes with as Daton Fix and Dustin Plott won individual titles at the Big 12 tourney.
The 2-0 results from Thompson, Fix, Spratley and Plott were impressive, but Oklahoma State had two additional athletes notch wins worth addressing. At 157 pounds, sophomore No.17 Teague Travis outscored All-American No. 10 Brock Mauller from Missouri in sudden victory in his first top-ten win of the year, and, up one weight, No. 3 Izzak Olejnik beat Arizona State’s Chance McLane 5-0 before falling in a sudden victory battle against two-time NCAA champion No. 1 Keegan O’Toole.
O’Toole’s win over a tough Olejnik builds anticipation for the Tiger’s bout against No. 2 David Carr of Iowa State February 25, but, to Olejnik’s credit, his ability to take O’Toole to sudden victory shows he’s not out of this title conversation either.
Buckle up. The intensity of the 165-pound weight class in the Big 12 isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
Little Rock maintains trajectory toward conference title quest
Oklahoma State. Penn State. Iowa. Iowa State. Missouri. Ohio State. Michigan. Oklahoma State.
These are known powerhouse programs, programs that have won conference tournaments, competed for national titles and built themselves up around the national brands of their institutions. Adding to a dynasty is tough, but building one from scratch, in a state not necessarily known for wrestling? Well that’s a completely different challenge, but it’s one that head coach Neil Erisman is tackling in Little Rock, Arkansas. In fact, the Trojans picked up yet another ranked win over the weekend against Cal Poly, stopping the Mustangs, 21-12. Nasir Bailey, Matty Bianchi, Joe Bianchi, Triston Wills, Stephen Little and Josiah Hill notched individual wins in the successful team performance, with Bailey and Hill securing ranked victories in the process.
Little Rock broke in the Top 25 for the first time in school history earlier this semester and currently sits at No. 20. This is a program that could very well compete for a Pac-12 title this year if everything goes right.
TOP 25: Complete list of ranked wrestling programs
Little Rock wasn’t the only Pac-12 team with a notable result though, as Arizona State rebounded from its loss to Oklahoma State with a win over Oregon State.
Despite an early loss in the dual against the Beavers at 125 pounds, the Sun Devils rallied to secure wins at 133 pounds, 149 pounds, 157 pounds, 165 pounds, 174 pounds, and 285 pounds. The biggest of those wins came from Nicco Ruiz, as the 165-pounder topped No. 13 Matthew Olguin, 6-3, to give Arizona State some key momentum heading into the second half. The Sun Devils will have a tough Cal Poly team next before entering their last stretch of duals, all against ranked teams including No. 16 Stanford, No. 15 Lehigh and No. 6 Nebraska.
Campbell, NC State pick up ranked in-state rivalry wins to showcase southern wrestling
West Coast wrestling has earned some well-deserved attention in the last few years, but No. 8 NC State and Campbell are making sure that fans are not forgetting about wrestling in the south, specifically in North Carolina.
The Wolfpack, in particular, showed off on Friday night in their second-consecutive sellout dual in Reynolds Coliseum, downing in-state rival North Carolina 33-6 behind wins from Jarrett Trombley, Kai Orine, Ryan Jack, Jackson Arrington, Derek Fields, Dylan Fishback, Trent Hidlay and Owen Trephan. The Pack are now 12-2 on the year with the team's only losses coming against Ohio State and Oklahoma State, two teams ranked inside the top 10.
Proved our point … 🐺 on 🔝
— NC State Wrestling 🤼♂️ (@PackWrestle)
Orine and Hidlay have both earned All-American honors in the past, as has 157-pounder Ed Scott, but Trombley, Jack, Arrington and Trephan have also been in the mix for a podium spot. Fishback, a freshman, is also someone who could compete for a podium spot, as he's currently 13-5 on the year and ranked No. 10 nationally. NC State has the right pieces in place to compete for a top-three spot at nationals, but all of their guys will need to break through and score points.
North Carolina is a team that could also challenge for some individual ACC titles this year and be competitive, so this is certainly a program to watch as well, particularly under the new leadership of head coach and alumnus Rob Koll.
Outside of the ACC, another North Carolina rivalry took center stage this weekend, as the Campbell Camels topped Appalachian State in a SoCon showdown. Anthony Molton kicked things off for the Camels with a tech fall over Chad Bellis before App went on a run and won 133, 141, 149, 157 and 165 pounds. Undeterred, Camel retaliated, taking the last four bouts with two decisions and two first-period falls. SoCon wrestling fans are lucky to have this rivalry, and it's one that will emerge again in just a few weeks at the conference tournament.
CAMPBELL WRESTLING: Everything you need to know about the rise of the Camels
The Camels also picked up a 43-3 win over Gardner-Webb, winning every weight except 141 pounds, while App State topped VMI, 32-7. These two programs continue to lead this conference and bring well-warranted attention to their teams.
Notable results at 125 pounds prove that the weight remains wild
Every weekend leads to more significant results in the nation’s most interesting weight class of 125 pounds. This week, Clarion's Joey Fischer picked up one of the biggest wins at 125 pounds in his 9-6 over All-American No. 8 Anthony Noto in a result that could sneak Fischer into the Top 33. For a brief moment earlier this year, Noto held down the top spot in the weight, but that No. 1 ranking now belongs to Purdue's Matt Ramos, the NCAA finalist who picked up another huge victory against No. 2 Eric Barnett of Wisconsin 4-1.
Another day, another big time dub for 🥶🚂 |
— Purdue Wrestling (@PurdueWrestling)
Ramos' next big test will come on Feb. 11 against Minnesota's No. 14 Patrick McKee, a veteran All-American who went 2-0 on the weekend with wins over Tommy Capul of Maryland and Massey Odiotti of Northwestern. Outside of McKee and Ramos though, there's another Big Ten lightweight who made waves this weekend, as Ohio State freshman No. 24 Brendan McCrone picked up a huge win against Rutgers' No. 13 Dean Peterson to prove that he shouldn't be left out of this conversation. McCrone is 14-8 on the year with his best win coming against All-Americans Eddie Ventresca, though he did also take bonus losses to No. 12 DeAugustino and No. 2 Barnett. McCrone is a classic case someone who could go 0-2 in a bracket if he's in a bad spot, or could make a run all the way to the podium if he pulls off enough upsets. This is not an athlete to underestimate.
