Wrestling [2016-2017]

[mountainred]

Based on the "pre-seeds" there are 6-8 top 20 wrestlers at every weight. (I hope that isn't behind a paywall.)  Not all of the pre-seeded wrestlers will be there, Macri and Palacio are still out for Cornell for instance.  Still, a great chance to see how our guys match-up.

[ugarte]

Day one is over for the Big Red. Some really great results.

125: Noah Baughman continues to impress while subbing for an injured Macri. 2 wins, including a TF and a win over a seeded wrestler before losing by MD in the QF.

133: Mark Grey is having another great tournament. Coming in as the 5 seed, he has a Fall, a win and then another Fall over the 4 seed to go to the semfinals. His next match is against a junior who finished in the top 3 both prior years.

141: Will Koll starts the day with a big win over the 7 seed (big early lead, held on for the win) before losing a pair.

149: Joe Galasso had in and a loss in the championship bracket, a pair of wins (including a Fall) in the consolation bracket before losing a wild one in OT.

157: Taylor Simaz with a MD before dropping a pair.

165: Brandon Womack started like a house afire. Fall, MD, Fall before running into a buzzsaw and losing in the QF.

174: Brian Realbuto with a two wins and a MD to get into the semis.

184: Gabe Dean has three straight first period falls to get into the semis.

197: Ben Honis beat the 8 and 9 seed before facing the top seed who took him out with extreme prejudice.

Hwt: Jeramy Sweany lost both of his matches.

After day 1, Cornell is in 4th place.

[dag14]

Just a note for those not familiar with wrestling, Baughman, Womack and Honis are still alive in the consolation round so will wrestle at least one more match today while Grey, Realbuto and Dean hope for the title but can finish no worse than fourth.  Which in the case of Realbuto and Dean would definitely be a disappointment since they are seeded first.

[ugarte]

Baughman and Honis lost their first consolation matches and were eliminated.

Womack won one (in SV) then lost one (in SV) to go to the 5th place match, where Valencia beat him again, this time a quick fall.

Grey won the rest of his matches and finished in third.

Realbuto and Dean are still to come in their championship matches.

[ugarte]

Realbuto lost a close one, 3-2 to stud frosh Valencia from Arizona State (I assume he's the brother of the ASU Valencia who tortured Womack.)

Dean destroyed his opponent, the #8 wrestler in the country, by Technical Fall (19-4). That was basically his closest match of the tournament since it went into the third period. The guy who Dean beat in the final, beat the #2 guy in the country in the semi. Dean looks unstoppable this year.

[ugarte]

The wrestling team has the week off (before traveling to Oklahoma for a pair of tough dual meets against the Sooners and Cowboys) but Dylan Palacio, who took the first semester off, is in Hungary wrestling in an international tournament on behalf of Uruguay.* You can watch him if you wake up at, IIRC, 4am Eastern tomorrow.

https://unitedworldwrestling.org/event/world-championships-non-olympic-weight-categories

* Palacio was, AFAIK, born and raised on Long Island but his parents are Uruguayan and Colombian, so he can wrestle for them internationally. I think doing so forfeits his right to wrestle for the US (for a while, anyway) but qualifying for our team is somewhere between difficult and unikely and I'm pretty sure the qualification process for Uruguay's team involved making a phone call and asking for a singlet. He finished in 6th place at the last tournament he went to, where he tried to qualify Uruguay (and himself) for the Olympics. He finished a credible 6th but that wasn't enough.

[mountainred]

So glad I didn't wake up early.  Dylan didn't wrestle.  No idea why (injured?  Wanted to stay home and get ready for the Oklahoma trip?). But I wanted to spare others from the search of the brackets for his name.

[ugarte]

So glad I didn't wake up early.  Dylan didn't wrestle.  No idea why (injured?  Wanted to stay home and get ready for the Oklahoma trip?). But I wanted to spare others from the search of the brackets for his name.

oh boy i'm sorry i forgot to tell the board. someone on the wrestling board noticed and i was only kidding about waking up at 4am anyway.

[mountainred]

So glad I didn't wake up early.  Dylan didn't wrestle.  No idea why (injured?  Wanted to stay home and get ready for the Oklahoma trip?). But I wanted to spare others from the search of the brackets for his name.

oh boy i'm sorry i forgot to tell the board. someone on the wrestling board noticed and i was only kidding about waking up at 4am anyway.

I figured it was joke and never seriously thought about getting up early. I should have looked on the wrestling board before searching the brackets for his name.

Any idea if this is a good thing (wanted to focus on college style wresting), a bad thing (injured), or just a thing?

[ugarte]

Any idea if this is a good thing (wanted to focus on college style wresting), a bad thing (injured), or just a thing?

I tweeted at him to ask but got no response. No info elsewhere as far as I've seen.

[ugarte]

Not a win, but an insanely good dual all the same by the #8 Big Red against the #1 Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Oklahoma State started the dual at 174 instead of the more traditional low-to-high, probably because it would get Cornell's strong weights out of the way and let the home crowd see the home team finish strong. The Cowboys are nuts - the lowest rated guy in the lineup was #11.

174: #6 Brian Realbuto (CU) dec. #4 Kyle Crutchmer (OSU) 3-2 (CU 3-0)
     A pair of 2015 All-Americans who saw their seasons end in injury. Last year when Realbuto was #1 and Crutchmer was #2, they met in the Southern Scuffle. It was a rough tournament for both of them so they met in the 5th place match, where Crutchmer won 4-3 on a takedown with 9 seconds left. This year, after trading escapes, Realbuto got the third period takedown to seal the win. This was Realbuto's first win over a top 10 wrestler this year, after dropping losing to Valencia in Las Vegas. A great win and one he really needed.

184: @1 Gabe Dean (CU) MD #6 Nolan Boyd (OSU) 14-6 (CU 7-0)
     Still the best. 7 takedowns and all of Boyd's points were on escapes. A major decision over the only guy who beat him last year. In Dean's defense, he was probably sick at the time and easily won the rematch in the NCAA QF.

197: #5 Preston Weigel (OSU) dec. UR Ben Honis (CU) 3-2 (CU 7-3)
     Ben Honis damn near had this one. He rode Weigel for the entire second period and was awarded a penalty point when Weigel got dinged for stalling. Given his success on top in the second period, he opted to stay on top for the third; Didn't work. Weigel got out quickly. Then Weigel got a takedown with 40 seconds left and hung on until the end of the match. This, as it turns out would not only have been a great upset but a huge win. Flipping only this match would have given the dual to Cornell (if you ignore the Butterfly Effect).

HWT: @11 Austin Schafer (OSU) dec. UR Craig Scott (CU) 7-3 (CU 7-6)
     Jeramy Sweany was out, so Craig Scott stepped in. He acquitted himself well and avoided a major decision or worse.

125: UR Noah Baughman (CU) fall #9 Nick Piccininni (OSU) 4:25 (CU 13-6)
     When Dalton Macri got hurt it looked like 125 was going to be a trouble weight since nobody knew what to expect from Baughman. Baughman's been great, though. He got the first takedown of the match and, after NicPic escaped, ended up in a scramble where (still in a neutral position) he was able to press his opponent's shoulders to the mat for a huge pin.

133: #5 Kaid Brock (OSU) MD #17 Mark Grey (CU) 17-6 (CU 13-10)
     Brock dominated Grey. No takedowns for Mark.

141: #1 Dean Heil (OSU) dec. UR Will Koll (CU) 6-1 (13-13)
     Koll couldn't get any offense going against the defending national champ but he kept it close.

149: #3 Anthony Collica (OSU) fall UR Joey Galasso (CU) 3:31 OSU 19-13
     Collica dominated this won from the jump. He was already putting on a takedown clinic when he got the pin early in the second period. Galasso's had some decent wins but overall a rough start.

157: #3 Joe Smith (OSU) MD UR Kyle Simaz (CU) 15-6 OSU 23-13
     The hope was that this would be a matchup of two top three guys making their season debuts. Alas, #2 Dylan Palacio is still not back in the Cornell lineup and, as it turns out, neither was his backup Taylor Simaz. Instead, third-stringer Kyle Simaz took the mat. Smith took care of him easily and clinched the win for OSU.

165: #20 Brandon Womack (CU) fall #8 Chandler Rogers (OSU) 1:05 OSU 23-19
     Going into Las Vegas, Womack was a pinning machine, but he hadn't faced much competition. At Las Vegas he picked up three losses to a couple of wrestlers a few slots ahead of him in the rankings. Tonight he took it right to a top 10 guy, getting a quick takedown, back points and then a pin in just over a minute. He's something else. This was a huge win for him.

An insanely good night. Even most of the losses were better than expected. Flip one of the matches we lost (and 197 is the one that got away) and Cornell shocks the wrestling world and wins the dual.

On Sunday we face Oklahoma. Another tough matchup, though not nearly this tough on paper.

[scoop85]

Not a win, but an insanely good dual all the same by the #8 Big Red against the #1 Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Oklahoma State started the dual at 174 instead of the more traditional low-to-high, probably because it would get Cornell's strong weights out of the way and let the home crowd see the home team finish strong. The Cowboys are nuts - the lowest rated guy in the lineup was #11.

174: #6 Brian Realbuto (CU) dec. #4 Kyle Crutchmer (OSU) 3-2 (CU 3-0)
     A pair of 2015 All-Americans who saw their seasons end in injury. Last year when Realbuto was #1 and Crutchmer was #2, they met in the Southern Scuffle. It was a rough tournament for both of them so they met in the 5th place match, where Crutchmer won 4-3 on a takedown with 9 seconds left. This year, after trading escapes, Realbuto got the third period takedown to seal the win. This was Realbuto's first win over a top 10 wrestler this year, after dropping losing to Valencia in Las Vegas. A great win and one he really needed.

184: @1 Gabe Dean (CU) MD #6 Nolan Boyd (OSU) 14-6 (CU 7-0)
     Still the best. 7 takedowns and all of Boyd's points were on escapes. A major decision over the only guy who beat him last year. In Dean's defense, he was probably sick at the time and easily won the rematch in the NCAA QF.

197: #5 Preston Weigel (OSU) dec. UR Ben Honis (CU) 3-2 (CU 7-3)
     Ben Honis damn near had this one. He rode Weigel for the entire second period and was awarded a penalty point when Weigel got dinged for stalling. Given his success on top in the second period, he opted to stay on top for the third; Didn't work. Weigel got out quickly. Then Weigel got a takedown with 40 seconds left and hung on until the end of the match. This, as it turns out would not only have been a great upset but a huge win. Flipping only this match would have given the dual to Cornell (if you ignore the Butterfly Effect).

HWT: @11 Austin Schafer (OSU) dec. UR Craig Scott (CU) 7-3 (CU 7-6)
     Jeramy Sweany was out, so Craig Scott stepped in. He acquitted himself well and avoided a major decision or worse.

125: UR Noah Baughman (CU) fall #9 Nick Piccininni (OSU) 4:25 (CU 13-6)
     When Dalton Macri got hurt it looked like 125 was going to be a trouble weight since nobody knew what to expect from Baughman. Baughman's been great, though. He got the first takedown of the match and, after NicPic escaped, ended up in a scramble where (still in a neutral position) he was able to press his opponent's shoulders to the mat for a huge pin.

133: #5 Kaid Brock (OSU) MD #17 Mark Grey (CU) 17-6 (CU 13-10)
     Brock dominated Grey. No takedowns for Mark.

141: #1 Dean Heil (OSU) dec. UR Will Koll (CU) 6-1 (13-13)
     Koll couldn't get any offense going against the defending national champ but he kept it close.

149: #3 Anthony Collica (OSU) fall UR Joey Galasso (CU) 3:31 OSU 19-13
     Collica dominated this won from the jump. He was already putting on a takedown clinic when he got the pin early in the second period. Galasso's had some decent wins but overall a rough start.

157: #3 Joe Smith (OSU) MD UR Kyle Simaz (CU) 15-6 OSU 23-13
     The hope was that this would be a matchup of two top three guys making their season debuts. Alas, #2 Dylan Palacio is still not back in the Cornell lineup and, as it turns out, neither was his backup Taylor Simaz. Instead, third-stringer Kyle Simaz took the mat. Smith took care of him easily and clinched the win for OSU.

165: #20 Brandon Womack (CU) fall #8 Chandler Rogers (OSU) 1:05 OSU 23-19
     Going into Las Vegas, Womack was a pinning machine, but he hadn't faced much competition. At Las Vegas he picked up three losses to a couple of wrestlers a few slots ahead of him in the rankings. Tonight he took it right to a top 10 guy, getting a quick takedown, back points and then a pin in just over a minute. He's something else. This was a huge win for him.

An insanely good night. Even most of the losses were better than expected. Flip one of the matches we lost (and 197 is the one that got away) and Cornell shocks the wrestling world and wins the dual.

On Sunday we face Oklahoma. Another tough matchup, though not nearly this tough on paper.

Terrific summary. I followed the match on Twitter and was impressed with how we performed.

[mountainred]

This won't be quite as good as ugarte's write-up about OSU, but the Big Red get a nice 21-19 win at Oklahoma.  

The good:  Realbuto and Dean take care of business against overmatched opponents (Breal with a 16-0 tech fall and Dean with a first period pin).  Craig Scott and Joey Galasso get huge upset wins over ranked opponents (Joey G's was a major) and Grey hits a late move to win at 133.

The oh so close:  Womack loses OU's #7 ranked senior 3-1 because of a takedown with less than a second left in the second period.  Ben Honis just misses an upset of his own, losing in sudden victory.  And Wil Koll loses a 5-4 decision that the Cornell coaching staff challenged (my computer froze, so I don't know why).

The disappointing:  Noah Baughman was caught in a bad position and pinned quickly.

The he did his job:  Kyle Simaz lost 12-0 in the last match with instructions to not get pinned.  He wasn't and Cornell won.

This isn't a vintage Sooner team, but winning in Norman is sweet no matter what.

[ugarte]

The he did his job:  Kyle Simaz lost 12-0 in the last match with instructions to not get pinned.  He wasn't and Cornell won.

I was out for this whole dual so I caught up by reading the Big Red Wrestling twitter feed and man did I laugh at the play by play of Simaz's match. I think he gave up 3 or 4 stalling points. Even on Twitter you can tell what that means - flattening out after being taken down and making no effort to get up, as the clock winds down.

Great day for the team despite the minor disappointments.

[marty]

Cornell at Oklahoma is on one of the Fox stations NOW!