TOM Article

ICYMI: Six TOM Takeaways from Week No. 5 of the 2021-22 D-I wrestling Season (November 29 – December 5)

by Christopher Miller

Pictured: Iowa coaches Tom and Terry Brands following the Cy-Hawk Dual in Ames, Iowa, on Sunday, December 5. Picture courtesy of Hawk Central.

Few would argue that the signature event of Week Five in Division I was the 2021 Cliff Keen Invitational at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada. While many storylines for the week came out of CKLV, there were other noteworthy nuggets from around wrestling country, too.

Here are six takeaways (in no particular order) from Week 5 (November 29 – December 5) in college wrestling.

CKLV Triggers TOM National Rankings Surges for some previously "under-the-radar" stars

The trio of Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State), Haiden Drury (Utah Valley), and Adam Kemp (Cal Poly) were among those to use CKLV as a means of thrusting their names into the national spotlight.

None of the three had appeared in any of the five previous TOM D-I National Rankings sets. That all changed after CKLV. As of Tuesday, December 7, Kaylor is No. 15 at 125, Drury checks in at No. 19 at 133, and Kemp ranks as No. 8 at 174.

How it happened:

125 – Brandon Kaylor

W, Kaylor over 2021 NCAA qualifier Jake Ferri (Kent State), 11-5.

W, Kaylor over then-No. 8 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State), 5-3.

L, Kaylor falls narrowly to then-No. 6 Devin Schroder, 8-6.

W, Kaylor over Jake Svihel (Wyoming), 14-5.

W, Kaylor over then-No. 20 Jack Medley (Michigan), 7-2.

133 – Haiden Drury

W, Drury majors Binghamton's Anthony Sobotker (who pinned No. 13, Sammy Alvarez, this year), 11-3.

W, Drury gets medal forfeit over No. 14 Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield).

L, Drury falls narrowly to CKLV champ then-No. 18 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan), 4-3.

W, Drury over Jake Gliva (Minnesota), 4-2 SV.

W, Drury over then-No. 20 Devan Turner (Oregon State), 6-4 SV.

174 – Adam Kemp

W, Kemp over then-No. 8 Chris Foca (Cornell), 3-2.

W, Kemp over then-No. 19 Troy Fisher (Northwestern), 4-2.

L, Kemp falls narrowly to then-No. 7 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 3-2.

W, W, Kemp medical forfeit over then-No. 8 Chris Foca (Cornell).

W, Kemp medical forfeit over then over then-No. 19 Troy Fisher (Northwestern).

Evan Wick is your new No. 1 at 165 pounds

The 165-pound weight class is loaded nationally. The 2021 CKLV Invitational showed just how deep and ultra-competitive the weight is. Well, the shining star of this weight in Vegas was Cal Poly's Evan Wick, a two-time NCAA All-American (3rd in 2018 and 4th in 2019) and three-time national qualifier, in his own right.

In Vegas, Wick put together a showing that earned him OW at CKLV. Wick was 5-0, and he outscored his opponents by a combined 38 to 5 margin with two shutouts.

Wick's path to the CKLV crown went throw 2021 freshman All-American Cam Amine (Michigan) and defending national champ Shane Griffith (Stanford).

Wick's weekend in Vegas was strong enough to propel the Cal Poly Mustang into TOM's No.1 spot at the weight. Overall, on the year, Wick is 9-0 with a 67% bonus-point rate and has never looked better on the folkstyle mat, in my opinion.

Looking ahead, later this month, Wick is likely to have a Midlands showdown with Iowa Alex 'The Bull' Marinelli, who has had Wick's number in the past. Historically Marinelli is 4-1 against Wick, having won four contests.

I'm certainly excited for matchup number six.

Yianni keeps things rolling at 149

Many speculated that Yianni's overall performance in Vegas would determine if he stays at 141 or cuts down to 141 pounds moving forward.

After CKLV, it's safe to say Yianni is staying put at 149.

At the event's toughest weight, Yianni brought home his second career CKLV title. The Cornell star bested returning NCAA finalist Sammy Sasso in the CKLV Finals with a dominant 7-2 win (with almost 3 minutes of riding time). Also, the two-time NCAA champ took out and pair of former NCAA qualifiers and former TOM-ranked athletes in Michael Blockhus (Minnesota) and Ridge Lovett (Nebraska), who gave Diakomihalis all he could handle in the CKLV semifinals.

Sign me up for another scramble session with Ridge and Yianni. After seeing volume one this weekend, it's clear both can certainly contend for the title in 2022.

Deakin and Northwestern shine in their first significant event of the 2021-2022 season

Northwestern has had a rough time this offseason and early into the 2021-2022 season. There were some changes to the Wildcat coaching staff, and prized recruit Carter Young left Evanston, Illinois, for his native Stillwater, Oklahoma, as a result.

Then, COVID-19 issues at Southern Illinois forced their dual with Northwestern to be cancelled.

With that, CKLV was just the second event for Northwestern. The 'Cats hadn't wrestled live since the Michigan State Open, nearly a month prior. And, in East Lansing, many starters didn't compete.

Still, coach Storniolo's Wildcats shinned in Vegas in the first event of the season for most starters. As a team, NU took forth, crowned one champ (Ryan Deakin – 157) and one runner-up (Chris Cannon – 133). Yahya Thomas (149), Troy Fisher (174), and Lucas Davison (285) found their way onto the podium as well.

In Deakin's case, he now joined an elite CKLV club. Per InterMat's Earl Smith, Deakin is one of just eight (including himself) three-time CKLV champions over the last 15 years. Only Kollin Moore, Zahid Valencia, Nahshon Garrett, Logan Stieber (4), Andrew Howe, Mack Lewens, and Ben Askren have done so.

Deakin's latest title shows that 157 is a two-horse race with Deakin and David Carr (Iowa State) leading the way.

All in all, it was a strong showing for a scrappy Northwestern squad that turned in a surprising top-10 team finish at NCAAs in 2021.

The Michigan Wolverines are stacked

Elsewhere in CKLV land and Big Ten country, Michigan placed third in Vegas behind conference foes Nebraska and Ohio State is outstanding. The Maize and Blue finished third without four former All-Americans in the lineup (Nick Suriano – 125/133, Stevan Micic - 141, Myles Amine - 184, and Mason Parris - 285). Wow!

The statistic speaks for itself. All that is left to say is watch out for what is sure to be a lethal Sean Bormet-led squad in March for Big Tens and NCAAs.

The Wolverines may win it all in Detroit.

The Cy-Hawk Dual was college wrestling rivalry personified

Two of the sport's proudest (and most successful) programs met this past weekend in Ames for what was the most electric team dual of the season thus far.

The dual had it all: Ranked wrestlers in virtually every match, including multiple ranked vs. ranked battles, upsets, controversial calls, and even a post-match brawl of sorts.

Questionable calls and post-match antics aside, the Cy-Hawk showdown was everything you could hope for and then some! The match even came down to the 10th and final bout to determine a winner.

During a year in which much has been discussed regarding "ducking" and how "only March matters," it's nice to see such fire and passion for an allegedly "meaningless" dual.

No matter who you rooted for or why you watched, it was evident to all that this dual mattered quite a bit to the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones. It was a great match and atmosphere.