TOM Article

ICYMI: TOM Takeaways from Week No. 7 and No. 8 of the 2021-22 D-I wrestling Season (December 13 – December 26)

by Christopher Miller

Pictured: Penn State's Aaron Brooks attempting a takedown against Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen while competing at the Collegiate Dual in Niceville, Florida, December 20-21. Photo by Sam Janicki / @SJanickiPhoto.

The 2021-2022 NCAA Division I wrestling season has finished through Week Eight. While week seven and week eight have been a little lighter due to final exams and the Christmas holiday, there are still some takeaways to be had.

Here are six takeaways (in no particular order) from Week 7 (December 13 – December 19) and Week 8 (December 20-December 26) in college wrestling.

Week Seven (December 13 – December 19)

Long travel day doesn't bother Oklahoma State

Friday, December 17, was a long day for John Smith and company. First, the Cowboys were in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to meet with Air Force. Then, Oklahoma State hit the road and headed hunfreds of miles to Laramie, Wyoming, for a dual with Wyoming, on Friday evening.

While the travel may have been brutal, you wouldn't have known by the way John Smith's squad competed. Oklahoma State came home with a perfect 2-0 dual meet record, winning 19 of 20 individual bouts, including 12 wins by bonus points.

More dual meet magic between Iowa State and Purdue

We are still very early in the 2021-2022 wrestling season, but one thing we have been spoiled with has been a surplus of immensely competitive dual meets. Well, during Week Seven, we saw another one as Iowa State and Purdue wrestled at Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa, where both head coaches Kevin (Iowa State) Dresser and Tony Ersland (Purdue) were alums.

The match was incredible. The score was close (Iowa State: 23 Purdue: 16, with the Cyclones winning six of the 10 bouts). Plus, the sold-out high school gym looked like a special atmosphere.

As if that weren't enough, the night's feature bout between No. 1 David Carr and No. 9 Kendall Coleman had some fireworks. Carr got it done and won by fall, further cementing his status as the top 157-pounder in the land.

https://twitter.com/CycloneWR/status/1473428568197709828

"Gas Tank Gary" won it in Reno for Oregon State

Fan-favorite heavyweight Gary Traub of Oregon State, more affectionately known as "Gas Tank Gary," came in clutch at the Tournament of Champions in Nevada. His tight 3-1 decision over Sam Aguilar (Cal Poly unattached) clinched the team title for the Beavers. With the big-time win, the legend of Gas Tank Gary grew even larger.

Week 8 (Dec. 20-Dec. 26)

OSU Cowboys grab another shutout on the road

Oklahoma State has practically lived on the road thus far during the 2021-2022 season. Through seven duals, Oklahoma State only wrestled inside the friendly confines of Gallagher-Iba Arena just once. Well, home mat advantage (or the lack thereof) hasn't hindered John Smith's Cowboys. The Big 12 powerhouse is now 7-0 on the season with three shutout dual wins. Similarly, the lowest margin of victory for OK State was a 23-10 decision over the Big Ten's Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Cowboys are looking dominant.

The Collegiate Duals were spectacular

Make no mistake about it, the marquee storylines of Week Eight came from Niceville, Florida, and the 2021 Collegiate Duals. Here are some quick thoughts about the two-day event that showcased much of the nation's top talent.

https://twitter.com/jmenwrestling/status/1474367303949160450

+ Spencer Lee is back. With two shutout bonus-point wins, Lee was 3-0 and outscored opponents by a 31-1 margin. He even earned a quality win over 2021 All-American Jakob Camacho. It's great to have one of the faces of college wrestling back on the mat.

One thing we didn't see from Lee down in Florida, though, was his relentless barrage of shot attempts. He focused much more on the takedown and rid/turn side of things rather than accumulating takedown after takedown.

+ Fellow Hawkeye Jaydin Eierman was not his traditional dominant self. In his Collegiate Duals opener, he fell behind, 11-2 to No. 9 Dresden Simon of Central Michigan before mounting a herculean comeback, wining 13-12.

Then, in what was an absolute slugfest of a dual with NC State, No. 17 Ryan Jack (NC State) took Eierman to the wire in a 7-6 decision where Jack nearly (and maybe even did) secure a defensive pin.

https://twitter.com/SamWise2006/status/1473685097341722629

+ NC State and Cornell shined against No. 1 Iowa and No. 2 Penn State. While the Wolfpack and Big Red came up just short in the two best duals of the tournament, you have to like the way the underdogs battled.

Having such close bouts is a confidence builder moving into conference play for NC State and Cornell, respectively. We also learned that Vito Arujau will likely man 125 pounds moving forward.

+ Arizona State struggled in the final period. There is no doubt that the Sun Devils have a strong squad, one led by a plethora of returning All-Americans. That being said, as a team, the Sun Devils were running on empty by the third period often.

Also noteworthy, it would appear that ASU youngster Cael Valencia will remain in redshirt this season. He competed (and struggled a bit) while unattached in Reno at the Tournament o Champions while the rest of the team was in Florida.

+ Another refreshing trend from Collegiate Duals, there weren't many instances of "ducking" or sitting out for non-medical necessities. Yes, we did miss what was sure to be an epic "Big Man Battle" between No. 3 Cohlton Schultz (ASU) vs. No. 5 Greg Kerkvilet (PSU) in what could have been the last bout of the entire event. And, yes, there were a few other instances. However, there were far fewer than I initially expected.

+ Some 197 pounds results created chaos for college wrestling rankers everywhere. What makes wrestling great is that it is an individual sport where any wrestler can beat another; rankings be damned. We saw proof of this at Collegiate Duals.

The evidence: No. 12 Lou DePrez beat No. 13 Isaac Trumble, No. 13 Isaac Trumble beat No. 3 Rocky Elam, No. 3 Rocky Elam beat No. 13 Lou DePrez. Yikes.

Beau Bartlett takes out Kyle Parco in OT

The Nittany Lion 149-pounder out of powerhouse Wyoming Seminary by way of Tempe, Arizona, has shown flashes of something special. He was certainly electric in his 3-1 OT thriller with Arizona State All-American Kyle Parco. This is easily Beau's biggest win of the year.

2021 Collegiate Duals Official

Official Results can be found on Tournaflex by clicking here.

Looking Ahead

Don't worry, there is plenty if quality D-I wrestling coming your way very soon.

https://twitter.com/JustinJBasch/status/1474779310296813577