Wide open team race at Southern Scuffle, as Oklahoma State leads with five semifinalists and North Dakota State in second place
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by Roger Moore, Special to TheMat.com
Image of Oklahoma State star Kaden Gfeller courtesy of @CowboyWrestling Twitter.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – With Penn State, winners of the seven of the last eight Southern Scuffle titles staying home, the 2020 trophy is up for grabs. And, for the first time in almost a decade, there is an actual team race.
Late into Wednesday’s wrestling, Northern Colorado led the field. North Dakota State moved in front after a 157-pound quarterfinal victory by Luke Weber. But by the time the first day’s marathon ended it was ninth-ranked Oklahoma State who stood on top with 70 points.
Seven teams are within 11 points of first after a day with a handful of surprises. Sixth-rated North Carolina State is among those fighting for top honors along with North Dakota State, Rider, Stanford, Northern Colorado, and Pittsburgh. This season’s field is missing the likes of Cornell, Minnesota, Missouri, Virginia Tech, a who’s who of the nation’s elite programs.
“You’ve seen upsets, guys that aren’t necessarily proven just yet having to battle,” said Wolfpack boss Pat Popolizio. “Everyone is dealing with it and that’s what is making this season, this tournament, kind of crazy. There’s a lot of good wrestling going on.
“Any time you enter a tournament, wrestle a dual, you want to win. We are trying to get to that elite status that a few programs have reached and it’s challenging going from the hunter to the hunted. (Thursday) is going to be fun.”
The Wolfpack, like the Cowboys, are among those who took a punch or two on Day 1. All-American Tariq Wilson suffered a Round of 16 loss to OSU reserve Dusty Hone at 141 pounds. Nick Reenan went down to Penn State redshirt Michael Beard in the 197-pound quarters. The Hidlay brothers, Hayden (157) and Trent (184), moved into the semifinals, along with Daniel Bullard at 165 pounds.
OSU, four times a bridesmaid in Chattanooga and champions in 2017, started the day with bad news when top-seeded 149-pounder Boo Lewallen failed a skin check. A few hours later another top seed and three-time Scuffle runner-up, Joe Smith at 174 pounds, fell to North Dakota State’s Lorenzo De La Riva. Hours later it was top-seeded 197-pounder Dakota Geer who went down, losing a third-period scramble to Rider’s Ethan Laird in the quarterfinals.
Kaden Gfeller and Smith hit the mat for the first time this season and each earned top seeds. Gfeller, who won 29 matches as a redshirt-freshman 149-pounder a year ago and has also claimed two Scuffle championships, won four bouts Wednesday, including a battle with Binghamton’s Anthony Sparacio in the quarters.
OSU pushed All-American Nick Piccininni (125), Gfeller and Hone, Wyatt Sheets, and rookie Travis Wittlake into the final four. Sheets took out the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds at 157, while Piccininni dodged a late bullet against Virginia Tech’s talented redshirt Sam Latona in the quarters. Wittlake, unbeaten in 13 matches this season, was steady in three wins.
North Dakota State had a good day, pushing Cam Sykora (133) and Weber (157) into the semifinals. Stanford saw talented youngsters Real Woods (141) and Shane Griffth (165) and All-American Nathan Traxler (197) into the semifinals.
Cardinal redshirt Jaden Abas, son of former Fresno State star Gerry, is part of a funky 149-pound bracket. With Lewallen out, Jaden van der Merwe moved into the top spot. But he fell to Appalachian State’s Jonathan Milner in the evening; Milner squares off with Northern Colorado’s rookie Andrew Alirez in the semifinals. The bottom half shows George Mason’s Colson DiBlasi, the sixth seed, against the unseeded Abas.
UNC’s Troy Nickerson, like a lot of young coaches, is trying to build something like Popolizio has done in Raleigh.
“It’s good to hear your name up there,” said the sixth-year head coach. “We are getting better and we have a really young team. This is my sixth year and things are starting to show, getting to where we want to be.
“It’s the kids. They’ve bought in, wanting to do something special at a place that hasn’t had a ton of success.”
Alirez is joined by undersized heavyweight Dalton Robertson in the final four.
Among the matches to watch on Day 2 include Gfeller and Lock Haven’s Kyle Shoop at 141 pounds; Woods and the upset-minded Hone at 141; Hidlay and Sheets; Griffith and Wittlake; Pitt’s Nick Bonaccorsi and Binghamton’s Lou DePrez at 197 along with Beard and Traxler.
Wrestling hits the mats at 10 a.m. (EST) on Thursday. Who will hoist the team trophy is anybody’s guess in another strange week of the 2019-20 campaign. All the action is live on Flowrestling.
SOUTHERN SCUFFLE
At Chattanooga, Tenn., January 1
Semifinal pairings (with seeds)
125 pounds
No. 1 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) vs. Caleb Smith (Appalachian State)
No. 7 Michael McGee (Old Dominion) vs. Luke Werner (Lock Haven)
133 pounds
No. 1 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 5 Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers)
No. 2 Cam Sykora (North Dakota State) vs. No. 6 Devan Turner (Oregon St.)
141 pounds
No. 1 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven)
No. 3 Real Woods (Stanford) vs. Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State)
149 pounds
No. 4 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) vs. No. 8 Jonathan Milner (Appalachian State)
No. 6 Colston Diblasi (George Mason) vs. Jaden Abas (Stanford)
157 pounds
No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) vs. Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State)
No. 2 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) vs. Luke Weber (North Dakota State)
165 pounds
No. 1 Shane Griffith (Stanford) vs. No. 5 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
No. 2 Tanner Skidgel (Navy) vs. No. 3 Thomas Bullard (NC State)
174 pounds
No. 4 Dean Sherry (Rider) vs. No. 8 Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh)
No. 6 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. No. 7 Neal Richards (Virginia Military Institute)
184 pounds
No. 1 Trent Hidlay (NC State) vs. No. 4 Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga)
No. 2 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) vs. No. 3 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
197 pounds
No. 4 Noah Adams (West Virginia) vs. No. 8 Ethan Laird (Rider)
No. 2 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) vs. Michael Beard (Penn State)
285
No. 1 Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 5 Dalton Robertson (Northern Colorado)
No. 2 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) vs. No. 3 Cary Miller (Appalachian State)
Quarterfinal results (with seeds)
125 pounds
No. 1 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) dec. Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), 6-2
Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) dec. Jonathan Tropea (Rider), 5-3
Luke Werner (Lock Haven) pin No. 6 Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh), 6:23
No. 7 Michael McGee (Old Dominion) dec. No. 2 Nic Aguilar (Rutgers), 5-4
133 pounds
No. 1 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 8 Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State), 4-3
No. 5 Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) dec. Kai Orine (NC State), 4-2
No. 6 Devan Turner (Oregon St.) dec. No. 3 Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado), 4-3
No. 2 Cam Sykora (North Dakota State) pin No. 7 Chandler Olson (Drexel), 4:03
141 pounds
No. 1 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) dec. Anthony Sparacio (Binghamton), 6-3
No. 4 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) dec. Jojo Aragona (Rutgers), 6-5
No. 3 Real Woods (Stanford) maj. dec. No. 6 Evan Cheek (Cleveland State), 12-3
Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State) dec. Alex Madrigal (George Mason), 4-2
149 pounds
No. 8 Jonathan Milner (Appalachian State) dec. No. 1 Requir Van der Merwe (Stanford), 4-3
No. 4 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) pin AJ Leitten (NC State), 3:00
No. 6 Colston Diblasi (George Mason) pin No. 3 Russell Rohlfing (Cal State Bakersfield), 5:33
Jaden Abas (Stanford) dec. Jason Kraisser (Campbell), 10-3
157 pounds
No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) maj. dec. Jared Franek (North Dakota State), 12-2
Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 5 Kolby Ho (George Mason), 8-3
Luke Weber (North Dakota State) pin No. 6 Hunter Willits (Oregon St.), 1:45
No. 2 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) maj. dec. Michael Vanbrill (Rutgers), 14-5
165 pounds
No. 1 Shane Griffith (Stanford) maj. dec. Chase Straw (Iowa State), 11-2
No. 5 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 4 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh), 7-3
No. 3 Thomas Bullard (NC State) dec. Joe Lee (Penn State), 9-4
No. 2 Tanner Skidgel (Navy) dec. No. 7 Ebed Jarrell (Drexel), 3-1 SV
174 pounds
No. 8 Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) maj dec. Lorenzo De la Riva (North Dakota State), 8-0
No. 4 Dean Sherry (Rider) dec. No. 5 Daniel Bullard (NC State), 10-5
No. 6 Carter Starocci (Penn State) maj dec. No. 3 Spencer Carey (Navy), 13-5
No. 7 Neal Richards (Virginia Military Institute) tech. fall Chris Foca (Finger Lakes), 18-3, 6:10
184 pounds
No. 1 Trent Hidlay (NC State) dec. David Key (Naval Academy Prep School), 3-2
No. 4 Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) dec. Chris Kober (Campbell), 3-2
No. 3 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) maj. dec. Julien Broderson (Iowa State), 17-4.
No. 2 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado), 6-3
197 pounds
No. 8 Ethan Laird (Rider) dec. No. 1 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State), 3-2
No. 4 Noah Adams (West Virginia) maj. dec. No. 5 Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), 10-2
Michael Beard (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Nick Reenan (NC State), 1-0
No. 2 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) dec. No. 7 Jacob Cardenas (Finger Lakes), 11-4
285
No. 1 Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh) dec. Deonte Wilson (NC State), 8-3
No. 5 Dalton Robertson (Northern Colorado) maj. dec. No. 4 Brandon Metz (North Dakota State), 14-3
No. 3 Cary Miller (Appalachian State) maj. dec. Dan Stibral (North Dakota State), 8-0
No. 2 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) dec. Lewis Fernandes (Finger Lakes), 5-1
Top 20 teams after day one
1 Oklahoma State 70
2 North Dakota State 63
3 NC State 61.5
4 Rider 61
4 Stanford 61
6 Northern Colorado 59
6 Pittsburgh 59
8 Rutgers 49
9 Lock Haven 43
9 Navy 43
11 Appalachian State 42.5
12 Air Force 36.5
13 West Virginia 34
14 Chattanooga 33.5
15 Virginia Military Institute 32
16 Cal State Bakersfield 28.5
17 Oregon St. 27.5
18 Iowa State 26.5
19 George Mason 25.5
20 Drexel 21.5
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – With Penn State, winners of the seven of the last eight Southern Scuffle titles staying home, the 2020 trophy is up for grabs. And, for the first time in almost a decade, there is an actual team race.
Late into Wednesday’s wrestling, Northern Colorado led the field. North Dakota State moved in front after a 157-pound quarterfinal victory by Luke Weber. But by the time the first day’s marathon ended it was ninth-ranked Oklahoma State who stood on top with 70 points.
Seven teams are within 11 points of first after a day with a handful of surprises. Sixth-rated North Carolina State is among those fighting for top honors along with North Dakota State, Rider, Stanford, Northern Colorado, and Pittsburgh. This season’s field is missing the likes of Cornell, Minnesota, Missouri, Virginia Tech, a who’s who of the nation’s elite programs.
“You’ve seen upsets, guys that aren’t necessarily proven just yet having to battle,” said Wolfpack boss Pat Popolizio. “Everyone is dealing with it and that’s what is making this season, this tournament, kind of crazy. There’s a lot of good wrestling going on.
“Any time you enter a tournament, wrestle a dual, you want to win. We are trying to get to that elite status that a few programs have reached and it’s challenging going from the hunter to the hunted. (Thursday) is going to be fun.”
The Wolfpack, like the Cowboys, are among those who took a punch or two on Day 1. All-American Tariq Wilson suffered a Round of 16 loss to OSU reserve Dusty Hone at 141 pounds. Nick Reenan went down to Penn State redshirt Michael Beard in the 197-pound quarters. The Hidlay brothers, Hayden (157) and Trent (184), moved into the semifinals, along with Daniel Bullard at 165 pounds.
OSU, four times a bridesmaid in Chattanooga and champions in 2017, started the day with bad news when top-seeded 149-pounder Boo Lewallen failed a skin check. A few hours later another top seed and three-time Scuffle runner-up, Joe Smith at 174 pounds, fell to North Dakota State’s Lorenzo De La Riva. Hours later it was top-seeded 197-pounder Dakota Geer who went down, losing a third-period scramble to Rider’s Ethan Laird in the quarterfinals.
Kaden Gfeller and Smith hit the mat for the first time this season and each earned top seeds. Gfeller, who won 29 matches as a redshirt-freshman 149-pounder a year ago and has also claimed two Scuffle championships, won four bouts Wednesday, including a battle with Binghamton’s Anthony Sparacio in the quarters.
OSU pushed All-American Nick Piccininni (125), Gfeller and Hone, Wyatt Sheets, and rookie Travis Wittlake into the final four. Sheets took out the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds at 157, while Piccininni dodged a late bullet against Virginia Tech’s talented redshirt Sam Latona in the quarters. Wittlake, unbeaten in 13 matches this season, was steady in three wins.
North Dakota State had a good day, pushing Cam Sykora (133) and Weber (157) into the semifinals. Stanford saw talented youngsters Real Woods (141) and Shane Griffth (165) and All-American Nathan Traxler (197) into the semifinals.
Cardinal redshirt Jaden Abas, son of former Fresno State star Gerry, is part of a funky 149-pound bracket. With Lewallen out, Jaden van der Merwe moved into the top spot. But he fell to Appalachian State’s Jonathan Milner in the evening; Milner squares off with Northern Colorado’s rookie Andrew Alirez in the semifinals. The bottom half shows George Mason’s Colson DiBlasi, the sixth seed, against the unseeded Abas.
UNC’s Troy Nickerson, like a lot of young coaches, is trying to build something like Popolizio has done in Raleigh.
“It’s good to hear your name up there,” said the sixth-year head coach. “We are getting better and we have a really young team. This is my sixth year and things are starting to show, getting to where we want to be.
“It’s the kids. They’ve bought in, wanting to do something special at a place that hasn’t had a ton of success.”
Alirez is joined by undersized heavyweight Dalton Robertson in the final four.
Among the matches to watch on Day 2 include Gfeller and Lock Haven’s Kyle Shoop at 141 pounds; Woods and the upset-minded Hone at 141; Hidlay and Sheets; Griffith and Wittlake; Pitt’s Nick Bonaccorsi and Binghamton’s Lou DePrez at 197 along with Beard and Traxler.
Wrestling hits the mats at 10 a.m. (EST) on Thursday. Who will hoist the team trophy is anybody’s guess in another strange week of the 2019-20 campaign. All the action is live on Flowrestling.
SOUTHERN SCUFFLE
At Chattanooga, Tenn., January 1
Semifinal pairings (with seeds)
125 pounds
No. 1 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) vs. Caleb Smith (Appalachian State)
No. 7 Michael McGee (Old Dominion) vs. Luke Werner (Lock Haven)
133 pounds
No. 1 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 5 Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers)
No. 2 Cam Sykora (North Dakota State) vs. No. 6 Devan Turner (Oregon St.)
141 pounds
No. 1 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven)
No. 3 Real Woods (Stanford) vs. Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State)
149 pounds
No. 4 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) vs. No. 8 Jonathan Milner (Appalachian State)
No. 6 Colston Diblasi (George Mason) vs. Jaden Abas (Stanford)
157 pounds
No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) vs. Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State)
No. 2 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) vs. Luke Weber (North Dakota State)
165 pounds
No. 1 Shane Griffith (Stanford) vs. No. 5 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
No. 2 Tanner Skidgel (Navy) vs. No. 3 Thomas Bullard (NC State)
174 pounds
No. 4 Dean Sherry (Rider) vs. No. 8 Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh)
No. 6 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. No. 7 Neal Richards (Virginia Military Institute)
184 pounds
No. 1 Trent Hidlay (NC State) vs. No. 4 Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga)
No. 2 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) vs. No. 3 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
197 pounds
No. 4 Noah Adams (West Virginia) vs. No. 8 Ethan Laird (Rider)
No. 2 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) vs. Michael Beard (Penn State)
285
No. 1 Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 5 Dalton Robertson (Northern Colorado)
No. 2 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) vs. No. 3 Cary Miller (Appalachian State)
Quarterfinal results (with seeds)
125 pounds
No. 1 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) dec. Sam Latona (Virginia Tech), 6-2
Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) dec. Jonathan Tropea (Rider), 5-3
Luke Werner (Lock Haven) pin No. 6 Colton Camacho (Pittsburgh), 6:23
No. 7 Michael McGee (Old Dominion) dec. No. 2 Nic Aguilar (Rutgers), 5-4
133 pounds
No. 1 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 8 Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma State), 4-3
No. 5 Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) dec. Kai Orine (NC State), 4-2
No. 6 Devan Turner (Oregon St.) dec. No. 3 Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado), 4-3
No. 2 Cam Sykora (North Dakota State) pin No. 7 Chandler Olson (Drexel), 4:03
141 pounds
No. 1 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) dec. Anthony Sparacio (Binghamton), 6-3
No. 4 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) dec. Jojo Aragona (Rutgers), 6-5
No. 3 Real Woods (Stanford) maj. dec. No. 6 Evan Cheek (Cleveland State), 12-3
Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State) dec. Alex Madrigal (George Mason), 4-2
149 pounds
No. 8 Jonathan Milner (Appalachian State) dec. No. 1 Requir Van der Merwe (Stanford), 4-3
No. 4 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) pin AJ Leitten (NC State), 3:00
No. 6 Colston Diblasi (George Mason) pin No. 3 Russell Rohlfing (Cal State Bakersfield), 5:33
Jaden Abas (Stanford) dec. Jason Kraisser (Campbell), 10-3
157 pounds
No. 1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) maj. dec. Jared Franek (North Dakota State), 12-2
Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 5 Kolby Ho (George Mason), 8-3
Luke Weber (North Dakota State) pin No. 6 Hunter Willits (Oregon St.), 1:45
No. 2 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) maj. dec. Michael Vanbrill (Rutgers), 14-5
165 pounds
No. 1 Shane Griffith (Stanford) maj. dec. Chase Straw (Iowa State), 11-2
No. 5 Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 4 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh), 7-3
No. 3 Thomas Bullard (NC State) dec. Joe Lee (Penn State), 9-4
No. 2 Tanner Skidgel (Navy) dec. No. 7 Ebed Jarrell (Drexel), 3-1 SV
174 pounds
No. 8 Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh) maj dec. Lorenzo De la Riva (North Dakota State), 8-0
No. 4 Dean Sherry (Rider) dec. No. 5 Daniel Bullard (NC State), 10-5
No. 6 Carter Starocci (Penn State) maj dec. No. 3 Spencer Carey (Navy), 13-5
No. 7 Neal Richards (Virginia Military Institute) tech. fall Chris Foca (Finger Lakes), 18-3, 6:10
184 pounds
No. 1 Trent Hidlay (NC State) dec. David Key (Naval Academy Prep School), 3-2
No. 4 Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) dec. Chris Kober (Campbell), 3-2
No. 3 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) maj. dec. Julien Broderson (Iowa State), 17-4.
No. 2 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado), 6-3
197 pounds
No. 8 Ethan Laird (Rider) dec. No. 1 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State), 3-2
No. 4 Noah Adams (West Virginia) maj. dec. No. 5 Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), 10-2
Michael Beard (Penn State) dec. No. 3 Nick Reenan (NC State), 1-0
No. 2 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) dec. No. 7 Jacob Cardenas (Finger Lakes), 11-4
285
No. 1 Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh) dec. Deonte Wilson (NC State), 8-3
No. 5 Dalton Robertson (Northern Colorado) maj. dec. No. 4 Brandon Metz (North Dakota State), 14-3
No. 3 Cary Miller (Appalachian State) maj. dec. Dan Stibral (North Dakota State), 8-0
No. 2 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) dec. Lewis Fernandes (Finger Lakes), 5-1
Top 20 teams after day one
1 Oklahoma State 70
2 North Dakota State 63
3 NC State 61.5
4 Rider 61
4 Stanford 61
6 Northern Colorado 59
6 Pittsburgh 59
8 Rutgers 49
9 Lock Haven 43
9 Navy 43
11 Appalachian State 42.5
12 Air Force 36.5
13 West Virginia 34
14 Chattanooga 33.5
15 Virginia Military Institute 32
16 Cal State Bakersfield 28.5
17 Oregon St. 27.5
18 Iowa State 26.5
19 George Mason 25.5
20 Drexel 21.5
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