photo courtesy of Zachary Lucy; Missouri Athletics
We've got a week of DI action in the books and one of the first things I like to monitor every year is, "how are the freshmen handling the transition to college?" There are plenty that we expect to succeed that do, while there are also many that we didn't see coming, too. Of course, this college season is one like nothing we've experienced before. One of those unusual occurrences is that 2020-21 is a "free-year" eligibility-wise. With that in mind, coaches are more likely to let a true freshman get a taste of dual-action and wrestle their best possible lineups.
We've scoured through the results and found a handful (or maybe two) of freshmen that shined during the course of the opening weekend. They are listed in alphabetical order based on their school name.
Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
The 285 lbs bracket is already deep with young talent; however, it will be even better with Cohlton Schultz's addition. The Junior World silver medalist saw his first action in a Sun Devil singlet and responded with a pair of wins. He managed a 2-0 victory in the actual dual meet against Little Rock's Gabriel Beyer, then pinned one of the Trojan's top incoming freshmen, Josiah Hill.
Dorian Crosby (Bucknell)
Another talented big man in the fold is Bucknell's 285 lber, Dorian Crosby. The 2020 Pennsylvania state champion notched a solid, 8-3 win over veteran Tim Nagosky of Long Island in his first collegiate bout. He followed that up with another solid performance as he majored fellow freshman Stone Summers (VMI), 9-1.
Tristan Daugherty (Buffalo)
Going back to the other end of the lineup, Tristan Daugherty got the Buffalo Bulls season started off on a good note as he gutted out a 2-0 win over Gio DiSabato (Ohio).
Ty Raines (Buffalo)
Redshirt freshman Ty Raines got the nod for John Stutzman's team at 149 lbs Saturday. Raines was busy last season and competed unattached in 41 bouts, winning 24 of them. Against Ohio, Ty needed extra time to get a winning takedown, in sudden victory, over Alex Mosconi to secure an 8-6 win. It's always nice to see freshmen pulling out a match in overtime early in the season.
Hunter Watts (Central Michigan)
#10 ranked Dresden Simon didn't go for Central Michigan in their season opener and that left the door open for redshirt freshman Hunter Watts. Hunter took advantage of the opportunity with a 10-5 win over Olivet's Dylan Phelps. The Chippewas took all ten matches from their in-state foes on the way to a 42-0 shutout.
Yonger Bastida (Iowa State)
One of the more intriguing "freshmen" to watch is Iowa State's Yonger Bastida. Though this is his first year of collegiate competition (and folkstyle), Bastida has plenty of high-caliber experience. Younger was a Junior World silver medalist and a U23 World bronze medalist in 2019. He also earned his second silver medal at the Cerro Pelado last January in his native Cuba. Bastida made his US debut against Wartsburg's Kobe Woods and rolled to a 15-8 decision.
Zach Redding (Iowa State)
Austin Gomez's retirement left the Cyclones with a potential hole at 133 lbs, but true freshman Zach Redding showed he might be the long-term solution for Kevin Dresser's squad. Redding racked up a 17-1 tech fall on Joe Pins (Wartburg) during his debut.
Cameron Robinson (Iowa State)
The second true freshman to appear in Iowa State's initial dual with Wartburg, Cameron Robinson, was called into duty after Jarrett Degen was held out. Robinson responded with a 15-3 major decision over Brady Fritz and gave Cyclone fans plenty to be excited about in the future, post-Degen at the weight.
Kyle Prewitt (Little Rock)
Redshirt freshman Kyle Prewitt fell in his first match for Little Rock, a 9-3 decision at the hands of Arizona State's fifth-year senior, Cory Crooks. Not a bad showing for Prewitt. However, in an extra match, Prewitt tallied 21 points in a major decision win over highly-touted Julian Chlebove.
Triston Wills (Little Rock)
The lone Little Rock wrestler to get his hand raised in the school's 39-3 loss to Arizona State was redshirt freshman 174 lber, Triston Wills. Triston is in his first season in Arkansas, after redshirting in 2019-20 at Oklahoma State. It was difficult to get a gauge on Wills as he did not see any action all year. A 7-1 win over Zeke Coleman in his first appearance for Little Rock is very encouraging. Later he teched Ryan Moltz, 17-1, in an extra match.
Josh Edmond (Missouri)
Because of #15 Allan Hart's presence, it's unclear whether we'll see true freshman Josh Edmond get the nod in the postseason. With his showing on Sunday and his UWW Junior National title in November, it's clear that Edmond will make it a difficult decision for Missouri head coach Brian Smith. Edmond majored #26 Dylan Droegemueller (North Dakota State) in his first career dual meet, then added a pair of wins in extra competition. Josh was able to roll up 38 points during those three matches.
Sean Harman (Missouri)
While much of the attention was focused on two of the true freshmen in the lineup for Mizzou, redshirt freshman Sean Harman had quite the Sunday. Sean was the starter at 174 lbs in all three duals for the Tigers and responded with wins in each bout. Harmon quietly put together an excellent redshirt year, winning 20 of 21 matches in 2019-20. His performance over the weekend bumped his national ranking up to #24.
Keegan O'Toole (Missouri)
The top wrestler in the Class of 2020 saw action for the first time at the collegiate level and made a huge impact. Keegan O'Toole faced a ranked opponent in Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) during his initial dual outing, yet posted an impressive fall in the first period. Though he did not wrestle in dual competition, Keegan did post a tech fall over Jack Thomsen (South Dakota State) in an extra match. Like Edmond, O'Toole has a quite capable veteran in front of him (#13 Jarrett Jacques), so we'll have to monitor who gets the bulk of the dual starts.
Andrew Cerniglia (Navy)
What a start for Navy freshman Andrew Cerniglia! He dominated Tyler Badgett (Pittsburgh), also a freshman, and a two-time California state finalist, 16-1. Then Cerniglia notched his second tech of the day when he blew through Dallas Bulsak, 17-0. Bulsak had been Pittsburgh's starter at the ACC Championships in each of the last two years. We may have been a bit conservative with Andrew at #30 in this week's rankings.
Donald Cates (NC State)
In the midst of a star-studded recruiting class of 2020, it may have been easy to overlook Donald Cates. The NC State staff was able to keep Cates, a two-time state champion, and a Fargo All-American at home. Cates may very well be another in a long-list of overlooked high schoolers that go on to star in Raleigh. Donald was able to hold on against Gardner-Webb's returning starter, Rodrick Mosley, to prevail, 5-3 in its dual meet. Later he tallied an 18-7 major decision over Austin Reams at 165 lbs.
Ed Scott (NC State)
On the other end of the spectrum, one of the stars of the Wolfpack class of 2020 was two-time Pennsylvania state champion, Ed Scott. During the dual meet competition, Ed was well on his way to a technical fall, before pinning Jacson Muldrew (Gardner-Webb). If he ends up getting the full-time starting role at 149 lbs, things could get very interesting in the ACC.
Kellyn March (North Dakota State)
We talked about Kellyn March's big day in the top-ten performances of the week. He has since risen from unranked to #15 in the nation.
Jared McGill (Pittsburgh)
After dropping four of their first five bouts of their dual versus the Naval Academy, Pittsburgh was in danger of letting the match slip away. Jake Wentzel got things going again with a slight upset of Tanner Skidgel, while Jared Mcgill followed with a gritty 3-2 win over senior Dean Caravela. Later, in extra competition, McGill pinned Ethan Stern to finish 2-0.
Dylan Cedeno (Virginia)
Another weight to monitor going forward is 141 lbs for Virginia. Brian Courtney is the incumbent and went 3-0 on Saturday; however, true freshman Dylan Cedeno did, as well. Cedeno faced three opponents from Appalachian State, Dawson Bates, Heath Gonyer, and Josh Spurlin. Dylan was able to rack up bonus points against the final two and turned in a solid, 7-2 win over Bates.
Sammy Hillegas (Virginia Tech)
The #11th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies got off to a strong start with their 28-6 win over Campbell. One of the sparks for Tech came from their true freshman 141 lber, Sammy Hillegas. Hillegas cradled Shannon Hanna, an Old Dominion transfer, and pinned him in the second period to extend the Hokies lead to 12-0. He grabbed a second win of the day by downing Spencer Leonhardt, 5-2.
Sam Latona (Virginia Tech)
Virginia Tech got on the board first with a 5-3 win from redshirt freshman Sam Latona. The Alabama-native started the year ranked #16 on the strength of a 20-2 redshirt campaign that saw him defeat eventual ACC champion Jakob Camacho (NC State).
Andy Smith (Virginia Tech)
In a bit of a surprise, Andy Smith got the nod at 197 lbs for the Hokies. Smith grayshirted in 2019-20 and amassed a 9-4 record in open competition. He would garner two wins on the day, the first coming in the dual against Levi Hopkins, 12-7. Later he knocked off Hopkins' teammate, Taye Ghadiali, 5-2. With 197 being the old weight class in which the Hokies failed to qualify for Nationals in 2020, we could see much more of Smith.
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