TOM Article

ICYMI: Seven TOM Takeaways from Week No. 9 of the 2021-22 D-I wrestling Season (December 27 – January 2)

by Christopher Miller

Pictured: Maryland's Kyle Cochran (184) flexing after a win. Image courtesy of University of Maryland Athletics.

The 2021-2022 NCAA Division I wrestling season has finished Week Nine and moved into Week 10. It was a quiet week on the mats with two tournaments, Illinois MatMen Open and Southern Scuffle. There were a pair of dual meet events, which included a Oregon State vs. Utah Valley dual and a Northwestern tri-dual with Virginia and SIU-E.

Click here for all results from week 9.

Here are seven takeaways (in no particular order) from Week 9 (December 27- January 2) in college wrestling.

What herculean effort to salvage Midlands 2021 with the 2021 Illinois MatMen Open

As we all know by now, one of the best events of every college wrestling season, the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, was abruptly cancelled less than a week before when it was scheduled to get underway.

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On limited notice, various members of the wrestling community rallied and put together an event in its place, the 2021 Illinois MatMen Open, in NOW Arena in Goffman Estates, Illinois, the same venue as the cancelled Midlands 2021. The field, mainly Big Ten and EIWA schools, produced numerous entertaining storylines and individual matchups.

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In any case, this bullet is listed to commend all those involved in putting together an exciting event at the eleventh hour to give athletes and fans alike great matches and participle in and watch.

For MatMen 202 champions and placewinners, click here

Real Woods looked great at the MatMen Open

After a 22-1redshirt season, while wrestling unattached in 2018-19, Stanford's Woods stormed to a 19-1 overall record and a conference title at 141 pounds as a redshirt freshman in 2019-20. Sadly, the 2020 NCAAs, where Woods earned the No.3 seed, were cancelled.

Last year, Woods was focused heavily on the classroom, given his desire to graduate early after Sandford initially expected to cut its wrestling program. Still, at just 6-3 during the pandemic-shortened 2021 season, Woods qualified for NCAAs. He went 2-2.

Well, now the 2021-22 season is in full swing. Woods is back on the mat and showing flashes of that same dominance we saw during his stellar redshirt year and his redshirt freshman year (where he was a combined 41-2 ).

This year, Woods is 8-0 and he looks poised for at least an All-American finish in 2022 in one of the more challenging weights nationally (141).

Most recently, Woods dominated his way to a 2021 MatMen Open crown by going 5-0, outscoring opponents by a combined 22-5 margin, and eared ranked wins over then-No. 8 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) and No. 12 Allan Hart (Missouri). He was also not scored on during three of those five Southern Scuffle bouts.

It's great to see that the various injury, graduation, and program-cutting woes are in the rearview mirror. Woods can focus on finding his way to the podium in Detroit. He's looking like a clear title contender.

West Virginia's Peyton Hall and Wisconsin's Dean Hamiti can't be counted out

The 165-pound weight class is among the toughest in Division I this year. Sure, everyone knows about your top-4: Even Wick (Cal Poly), Keegan O'Toole (Missouri), Shane Griffith (Stanford), and Alex' The Bull' Mainelli (Iowa). These four are all capable of bringing home NCAA gold in March. Then, the further back in the rankings, you have others who have been NCAA finalists (Jake Wentzel) or have wins over NCAA finalists (Julian Ramirez). Plus, some other really talented guys in general (Carson Kharchla, Travis Whitlake, Cam Amine, and others).

Before MatMen Open and Southern Scuffle, few would have speculated that true freshman Deam Hamiti (Wisconsin) and freshman Peyton Hall (West Virginia) could find a spot on the podium in 2022. Well, after this past week , neither can be explicitly ruled out of earning their first All-American honor in 2022.

Here's why:

Hamiti was electric at Matmen. The true freshman was 4-0 with a pair of techs, a major decision, and a fall to his credit. Hamiti beat then-No. 12 Zach Hartman (Bucknell) via fall and then-No. 13 Phillip Conigliaro (Harvard) via tech fall. He also bested former Illinois NCAA qualifier Danny Braunagel, who isn't far outside the TOM top-20, with a 10-0 decision. On the year, the young Badger is 11-0 with a 91% bonus rate and 3-0 in matchups vs. current TOM-ranked wrestlers. It will be fun to see what he can do in conference play.

Hall is also off to a strong start in his second college season. Currently, 17-1 on the year with a 23% bonus-point rate, the Mountaineer is much-improved from his 16-6 campaign a year ago. His lone loss on the year came at Southern Scuffle last weekend to Mizzou's No. 2 Keegan O'Toole, 13-4. Still, Hall notched a pair of impressive wins at the Scuffle vs. then-No. 10 Luke Weber, 12-3. Plus, Hall authored a nice 6-4 overtime win over Iowa's Patrick Kennedy.

Have yourself a tournament, Kyle Cochran!

I mean zero disrespect when I say this. Maryland's Kyle Cochran was not on anyone's radar at 184 pounds this season. The redshirt senior was 6-8 in 2021 and has never qualified for NCAAs.

Well, after his Southern Scuffle showing's he's defiantly a name to keep an eye on.

At Scuffle, the Terps' upper weight went 5-0, including a trio of TOM-ranked wins to close out his day and claim the crown. Cochran beat No. 14 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech), No. 15 Jeremiah Kent (Missouri), and No. 13 Johnathan Loew (Cornell) in consecutive matches. He is 14-1 so far this season. With that, Cochran skyrocketed up to No. 12 in the latest TOM National Rankings from January 4. Yet another reminder that rankings have zero influence over the result of a matchup.

Olympic medalist Myles Amine takes out former Nittany Lion NCAA champ Mark Hall

The signature match of MatMen, the one we all wanted to see, was between former Penn State's NCAA champ (2017) and two-time finalist (2018, 2019), Mark Hall, and four-time Michigan All-American and Olympic bronze medalist, Myles Anime.

Historically speaking, the Wolverine was winless (0-5) against the Nittany Lion. Anime reversed those fortunes with a tight 4-2 decision over Hall.

It was fantastic to see two stars step to the mat for a fierce battle in a year where ducking has become commonplace. It's great for all involved, the wrestlers, the fans, and the event itself. I credit Hall for taking part in a folkstyle event when there was no benefit to doing so. It was fun to watch.

An 'up and down week' for the Iowa Hawkeyes

It's been a week of ups and downs in Iowa City. First, Spencer Lee announced that he would be having season-ending surgery. To lose the clear leader of your program is crushing in many ways.

In March, Lee's absence means that crucial team points will likely be lost at NCAAs. Plus, regardless of your fandom, Spencer is the face of NCAA wrestling. He is a class act in every way, both on and off the mat. You have to respect the NCAA title four-peat that Spencer was pursuing this season as a wrestling fan, even if you don't like Iowa.

Hopefully, that's not the last of Lee we see in an Iowa singlet, but I won't be surprised if it is. He has made it known he has wrestling dreams far beyond NCAA gold.

In better Hawkeye news, Tom and Terry secured a massive verbal commitment from Gabe Arnold (Wyoming Seminary, PA), the top 170-pounder in the country on the recruiting front.

Also, on the bright side, you have to feel encouraged how the Iowa contingent of backups performed at the Southern Scuffle. Three Hawkeye wrestlers took home top-four finishes. Freshman Drake Ayala picked up a third-place finish (beating a ranked Noah Surtin in the process), while redshirt freshman Cullen Schriever and senior Aaron Costello finished in fourth. These finishes are encouraging, given that Iowa turns over nearly its entire roster after Detroit.

So, Week 9 was defiantly a bittersweet one for the reigning national champions.

Greg Bulsak joins the party at 197 after upsetting Nino Bonaccorsi

Rutgers' Greg Bulsak is an experienced veteran in NCAA wrestling. He was a four-time NCAA qualifier and a 2020 MAC champion for the Clarion Golden Eagles. Bulsak took himself to a different tier after his 3-2 decision over reigning NCAA finalist Nino Bonaccorsi of Pitt at MatMen Open.

While I never like to put too much stock into a single result, the win is noteworthy. It's undoubtedly a momentum-building win for the Rutgers product as his demanding Big Ten schedule gets underway this week.

For Bonaccorsi, it may serve as a wake-up call of sorts. That said, while it's a surprising loss, so too was his 6-1 defeat to then-freshman Isaac Trumble of NC State last year. But things worked out pretty well for the Pitt Panther when it mattered most.

Either way, it was a great match. Who knows? We may even see a rematch later this year in Detroit.