The Tigers broke their losing streak and got their second conference win of the season with a nailbiter over Utah Valley. They won six matches, including sweeping the first five. The lineup was again unique, with Jake Crapps and Jeremy Jakowitsch making their dual debuts. Josh Edmond had an upset win, but Jake Crapps may have had the match of the night, taking out a very solid Kase Mauger. Here are some takeaways from the dual.
Youth continue to impress in a challenging season.
Gage Walker, Jake Crapps, and Logan Cole are all true freshmen that competed tonight. Walker beat a very solid wrestler who has given All-Americans close matches all season. Crapps had a wild one with a dangerous Mauger, showing relentless attacks and handling the scrambles well. Cole was pinned tonight but has shown good promise in previous matches. Even in this one he was trying to scramble through a position but Takara had a strong half for the fall.
J Conway, Zeke Seltzer, and Jarrett Stoner are younger wrestlers who all had solid wins tonight as well. Conway gave up the first takedown but had big double legs to secure the win in a physical match. Seltzer was only up one but managed to keep the offense up and get one late to clinch the win. Stoner clearly had a chip on his shoulder from the Stanford loss but left no doubts in this one. Forbes was a ranked wrestler earlier this year and Stoner looked good in all three positions to get the win.
Josh Edmond wins in a ranked upset.
Bit of a caveat here as Edmond had beaten Drury last season, but he was ranked lower this season. Edmond showed great offense early and flashed some new attacks to threaten. Drury is solid though and had good attacks of his own plus great defense to not get scored on. There were some surprising stall calls against Edmond here, which made this match look much closer late in the third. If Edmond can keep up the attack rate and vary his offense, this was a big step forward.
Injuries are still the story this season.
Noah Surtin, Cam Steed, Keegan O’Toole, Colton Hawks, Rocky Elam, Seth Nitzel. All starters early in the season that are out with injury. Surtin and Elam are both confirmed out this season. Steed and Nitzel are set to make their return soon. The hope is that O’Toole is back after January, but it’s not an exact date. Hawks was just injured against Stanford and the hope is he will be able to return, but the timeline is week to week.
This was always going to be somewhat of a rebuilding year this season with the number of veterans and All-Americans the Tigers graduated the past two years but injuries have only increased the challenges significantly. There’s still hope that most of these wrestlers will be able to return for the postseason, but until it happens then the challenging duals are likely to continue. However, young wrestlers are clearly improving and making strides, and the focus of the season has certainly shifted at the moment with the future looking bright.
Cyclone Open may provide some answers.
The Tigers are sending a number of wrestlers to Ames, IA on Sunday including Mack Mauger, Jake Crapps, Kade Moore, Owen Uhls, Easton Hilton, Nate Pulliam, J Conway, Cam Steed, Kolten Oborny, Logan Cole, Jake Stoffel, Seth Nitzel, and Logan Stoner.
The names that jump out include Steed and Nitzel, who will be making their return to competition after injuries. If they can stay healthy and get back in the lineup, the future is brighter for the Tigers. Nitzel and Stoner are both to look out for, as Stoner has worked to narrow the gap this season.
Kade Moore and J Conway are two I’m watching as well. They’ve had a brutal season with a number of highly ranked opponents and come up just short. The Cyclone Open will have solid ranked wrestlers as well, but could give them opportunities to get some wins under their belt to build confidence and find adjustments in matches.
Mauger, Crapps, and Cole have all had impressive moments as true freshmen. Look out for them to find some notable wins and they’re sleepers to get some ranked upsets in the right matchups.
125lbs: #32 Gage Walker Dec. Bridger Ricks (6-3)
133lbs: Jake Crapps Dec. Kase Mauger (9-2)
141lbs: #16 Josh Edmond Dec. #13 Haiden Drury (7-5)
149lbs: Zeke Seltzer Dec. Smokey McClure (9-2)
157lbs: J Conway Dec. Ryker Fullmer (9-6)
165lbs: #4 Terrell Barraclough Dec. Joel Mylin (2-0)
174lbs: Mark Takara Fall Logan Cole (1:08)
184lbs: Caleb Uhlenhopp Maj. Jeremy Jakowitsch (10-0)
197lbs: Kael Bennie Dec. Jesse Cassat (9-5)
285lbs: Jarrett Stoner Dec. Jack Forbes (5-1)
*Rankings provided from Intermat
