Ten Div. 1 College matches to watch this weekend

Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics.

With duals and opens taking place all over the country, here are ten individual matchups we can look forward to seeing this weekend. If you want to check out even more great matches to watch, The Open Mat also did a preview that can be viewed here. Note all individual rankings are based off Flowrestling and team rankings are based off The National Wrestling Coaches Association.

125: No. 5 Pat Glory (Princeton) vs. No. 12 Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh)

When and Where: 5:00 pm EST, Saturday, November 23 at Princeton
Glory was an All-American in 2019, placing sixth as a true freshman. Paetzell was an NCAA qualifier at 133 pounds last year. This could be a key match in the dual between No. 10 Lehigh and No. 16 Princeton.

133: No. 1 Seth Gross (Wisconsin) vs. UR Taylor LaMont (Utah Valley)

When and Where: 1:00 pm MST, Saturday November 23 at Utah Valley
Gross is the 2018 NCAA champion who missed nearly all of last season due to injury. LaMont made the round of 12 in 2018 at 125 pounds and is a seven-time age-group level World Team member in Greco-Roman. He also missed the 2019 season due to injury. LaMont was initially planning on was taking an Olympic redshirt but reversed his decision earlier this week, which is why he is currently unranked.

141: No. 16 Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh) vs. UR Ryan Pomrinca (Lehigh)

When and Where: 2:00 pm EST, Sunday, November 24 at Lehigh
This could be a pivotal match when No. 15 Pittsburgh takes on No. 10 Lehigh. While Matthews, a high-flying redshirt freshman, is the ranked wrestler, Pomrinca is a redshirt senior looking to make the most of his last go-round.

149: No. 7 Boo Lewallen (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 10 Brayton Lee (Minnesota)

When and Where: 2:00 pm CST, Sunday November 24 at Oklahoma State
Lewallen was a 2018 NCAA All-American and missed most of the 2019 season with injury. Lee is a redshirt freshman with extremely high expectations. In the offseason, Lee made the Junior World Team and competed in Tallinn, Estonia at the Junior World Championships.

157: No. 2 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. No. 19 David Carr (Iowa State)

When and Where: 2:00 pm CST, Sunday, November 24 at Iowa State
Young earned All-American honors last season, finishing fifth at the 2019 NCAA Championships. He is currently the No. 2 wrestler in the country. Carr, a redshirt freshman, won a Junior World title at 74 kg in the offseason, and many think he has the potential to contend for a title this year.

165: No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Josh Shields (Arizona State)

When and Where: 6:00 pm PST, Friday, November 22 at Arizona State
Joseph is a two-time NCAA champion and one-time runner-up. Shields is a two-time All-American. Both Pennsylvania products, last year the pair met twice, with Joseph taking both matches.

174: No. 4 Michael Labriola (Nebraska) vs. No. 5 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa)

When and Where: 1:00 pm CST, Sunday, November 24 at Northern Iowa
Labriola finished sixth last year as a redshirt freshman. Steiert was also an All-American, finishing eighth at 165 pounds. Nebraska is currently ranked fifth and Northern Iowa is 14th, so this will be a big match in a high profile dual.

184: No. 2 Lou DePrez (Binghamton) vs. No. 13 Trent Hidlay (NC State)

When and Where: 7:00 pm EST, Saturday, November 23 at Binghamton
DePrez made the round of twelve as a redshirt freshman last year. Hidlay, who is a redshirt freshman this year, had a successful redshirt campaign and also took bronze at 86 kg at the Junior World Championships. DePrez has also had success in freestyle and was a 2018 Junior World Team member.

197: No. 19 Thomas Penola (Purdue) vs. No. 23 Greg Bulsak (Clarion)

When and Where: 11:30 AM EST, Sunday, November 24 at Purdue
Penola is a redshirt freshman off to a strong start at 197 pounds after competing at 184 pounds last season. Bulsak is a redshirt junior who has qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice during his first two seasons in the lineup.

285: No. 6 Mason Parris (Michigan) vs. No. 7 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan)

When and Where: 2:00 PM EST, Sunday, November 24 at Michigan
Stencel, a redshirt junior, finished seventh last year to become an All-American. He pinned Parris, who was a true freshman at the time, in the round of twelve. The pair have met five times, with Parris holding the advantage, three matches to two. They have met twice this season with Parris taking both matches, 4-0 and 9-2. This summer, Parris won a Junior World title.