The Tigers took a banged up team to Nashville and finished 1-2 on the day with mixed individual results. With so much action and relevant results I decided to break things down into some takeaways for the Tigers before they start their home dual stretch.
- Keegan O’Toole firmly establishes himself as the #1 seed for now.
Coming into the year O’Toole was ranked #1 somewhat controversially. He and Levi Haines were both moving up in weight, but Haines was an NCAA champ and had just blanked O’Toole in freestyle. It seems the biggest difference was that O’Toole was going up just one weight while Haines was jumping two. Now after this win, O’Toole is a clear #1 and in the driver’s seat for the top seed in March.
This was a crazy match, and one of the best sequences of the year occurred in overtime. Throughout the match there was superb handfighting, and both wrestlers had some solid attempts and strong defense. It felt like Haines had the advantage through the match though and got much closer throughout. He nearly caught O’Toole reaching for legs multiple times with a go behind, but O’Toole was prepared and did a great job of squaring up.
The overtime sequence was nonstop action, and there’s certainly an argument for Haines to have a takedown once he slipped boots in. O’Toole slipped out the back though and even after a PSU challenge the call stood. Live I thought Haines potentially had it, but after rewatches I think it was the right call. The margins in that match were razor thin and both wrestlers and coaching staff will make adjustments so the next time they face off it could look vastly different. Even with all that, #3 Dean Hamiti looms large as an opponent O’Toole will see twice this season.
- Cam Steed’s injuries are going from bad to worse.
I firmly believe that a healthy Cam Steed is a sleeper podium contender. He has explosive offense and a variety of attacks that he strings together.