A lot happened this weekend in the college wrestling world and naturally I had a million and one thoughts float in and out of my brain. It was another weekend of college wrestling in the early part of the season, but it might just have become the 2nd most important weekend in college wrestling now.
It might not have an official NCAA team trophy on the line but it has the next best thing…money! They say money can’t buy you happiness, but they’ve never seen a college tournament with a million dollar prize purse and a team walk away with over 200 thousand dollars. If that doesn’t put a smile on your face then allow me to walk your microscopic brain there a classic transitive property session. Your team walks away with a boat load of cash…your team now has additional funds for recruiting…new recruits are better and help your team win more…I could continue but I know people are smiling and celebrating when their team is winning.
Paycom National Duals was done right this weekend and I am personally more excited for next year than I originally was. In year one it was a great start and we saw the best teams toe the line with their best lineups (except Lehigh) for every dual and every match. Not only do duals generate more passion from the wrestlers but it also garners more interest from the fans! As this event continues I hope the attendance skyrockets.
We saw at least 3 #1 ranked wrestlers in the country go down this weekend and a ton of other upsets. A 16 team format with payouts to 8 places and double elimination it was incredibly easy to follow along and consume every match. I can’t say enough great things.
Wisconsin natives Bianchi and Scoles squared off where Bianchi got the job done with a late takedown. Aeoden Sinclair knocked off the #1 wrestler in the country as a freshman! And Minnesota wrestled a lineup that had 40% of its starters coming from Wisconsin.
Elsewhere this weekend the Wisconsin Badges flew into Ohio with their belts already in hand and let the Bobcats know that hunting season started a few days early. The Badgers took out the Bobcats 27-10. They won 7 of 10 matches and never trailed. After a doom and gloom season last year the Badges are off to a 2-0 start in duals so far this year and they will face their toughest test yet against Bucknell in Stoughton High School on Tuesday evening November 25th. This dual will feature 12 nationally ranked wrestlers with the Badgers having 7 and Bucknell having 5. A small gym with a very competitive division 1 college dual is going to be chaotic! You can get tickets for it now by clicking here.
The Wisconsin Badgers have turned things around and have put together a very solid dual team lineup. Bucknell will be a true test to see where Bucky stands as a team. Only 8 days away this is one of the duals that the coaches and athletes thrive in front of a large rowdy crowd.
Just down the road this weekend in Ohio…I think…Parkside wrestled at the very tough Findlay Open. A D2 college Open that has always been tough but has gotten even better over recent years. To podium (top 6) at Findlay means you had a good weekend. To make the finals means you wrestled really well. To win the dang thing likely means you’re one of the best in the country. The Ranges were on fire. They had 12 athletes place, 4 total finalists with Jordan Blanchard taking home gold at 197. Blanchard, an old teammate of mine in college, is not only old, but appears to have shown the young whipper snappers a few of his old man tricks. He won all 5 of his matches by FALL including a 44 second pin in the finals. This guy wins college wrestling tournaments by day and sings country music by night, what can’t he do? Graduate college in 5 years apparently 😉
It’s all systems go right now in college wrestling and high school wrestling is just getting started today. I’m pretty sure Coach Matt Verbeten has posted his yearly Night Before Christmas (wrestling) poem on social media and that’s as good of a sign as any that wrestling season is in full swing.
Follow along and subscribe to us on Rokfin (click here) all season as every high school tournament we stream will have clipped and archived matches and we will continue to put out more pieces of content than you can read in a week! (Or at least I can read..i’m a slow reader).
The Concordia (CUW) Invite will be streamed live on Rokfin this weekend, the Badgers square off against Bucknell next Tuesday, high school wrestling’s first practice starts today, my massive brain is trying to keep up with it all and I’m still wearing my Birkenstocks without sandals. Wrestling season is here!
