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Led by champion Piccininni, Oklahoma State wins Southern Scuffle, followed by NC State and Stanford

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by Roger Moore, Special to TheMat.com

Oklahoma State, the 2020 Southern Scuffle champions. Photo by Sam Janicki.


CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Rarely is there a team race at the Southern Scuffle. But the 2020 version certainly provided some drama.


Ninth-rated Oklahoma State, four times bridesmaids and 2017 champions, got big medal round points from Wyatt Sheets and Travis Wittlake. And when Binghamton’s Lou DePrez toughed out a 3-2 win over North Carolina State’s Trent Hidlay in the 184-pound final, the Cowboys were in position to grab the trophy.


The Wolfpack left some points on the table – Nick Reenan and Tariq Wilson defaulted medal round matches. The Cowboys were without 149-pounder Boo Lewallen (skin check before the tournament) and Joe Smith, who defaulted out after a Wednesday night loss. All things considered, OSU head coach John Smith will take a Scuffle trophy back to Stillwater.


When wrestling started Thursday the leaderboard looked a bit strange. The Cowboys led with North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, North Carolina State, Stanford, and Rider in hot pursuit. In the end the top five showed OSU, North Carolina State, Stanford, Pittsburgh, and North Dakota State.


“It’s a good win for our team,” said John Smith, whose club totaled 116 points, seven more than runner-up North Carolina State. “We’ve had some guys sort of struggle on the scoreboard, but they picked it up deeper into this tournament, scored more points, gained some confidence with their offense. That’s what you want to get out of a tournament like this.


“But we also had some of the opposite, a couple of guys who struggled at times. Overall, though, for what we had out there and the scenario that played out, it’s a good effort for this team, especially at 141 … got a couple of good performances at the weight.”


OSU crowned senior 125-pounder Nick Piccininni, who in winning his 97th-career bout, dominated Lock Haven’s Luke Werner, 10-0, in the final. The two-time Scuffle champ got through a tough match against Virginia Tech’s talented rookie Sam Latona in the semifinals.


“It’s good, but I still have to work on some things,” Piccininni said. “You are never too good for anybody, that’s how wrestling is … getting better is my main focus right now.


“Having the target on your back, it means you can’t make mistakes because you are getting everyone’s best. I’m more proud of the way the team wrestled this week. We didn’t have everyone out there and to win a team title, no matter who or where, is always the goal. We can take a lot of positives into the rest of the season, knowing that we weren’t at our best but still got our hands raised.”


Sophomore 141-pounder Kaden Gfeller made his season debut and cruised to the finals where he ran into Stanford’s Real Woods, a 2019 Scuffle runner-up. An early mistake and over four minutes of riding time gave Woods, who has just two losses since joining the Stanford program, one to Penn State’s Nick Lee in the 2019 Scuffle final and to Ohio State’s Luke Pletcher earlier this season.


Smith’s squad won the tournament thanks in part to Thursday consolation wins by Sheets, Wittlake, Anthony Montalvo, and Dakota Geer. Sheets, after falling to possibly unbeatable Hayden Hidlay in the 157-pound semifinals, bounced back to take third; Wittlake, who entered unbeaten, dropped a match to 165-pound champion Shane Griffith, also a redshirt-freshman, but also battled back for third.


Wolfpack All-American Hayden Hidlay earned the 157-pound title with a dominant performance, beating Jesse Dellavecchia, 11-0, in the finals after beating Sheets in the semifinals. NC State boss Pat Popolizio knows it is January and a rugged ACC schedule lies ahead.


“We want to focus on what’s important, what’s down the road,” Popolizio said. “You want to come here and wrestle your best, win if you can, but we’re having some issues at 141 and coming back from torn ACL’s (Reenan) is not something we want to push with the schedule we have coming up. We have a couple of guys out, but the bigger picture is what we want to focus on.


“We are going to see (DePrez) again because those two are really good. We leave (Chattanooga) feeling pretty good. Not having some depth at a few weights we can’t risk things in early January.”


A young Stanford squad could be one to watch, crowing true freshman Jaden Abas, who beat Northern Colorado redshirt-freshman Andrew Alirez with a tough third-period scramble in the 149-pound final, and first-year starter Griffith, who won a bloody 165-pound final with Tanner Skidgel of Navy.


Real Woods obviously is the “real” deal.


“It was a good match, got to my game-plan, made it my match,” said Woods, a two-time Illinois state champion originally from New Mexico. “One thing I’ve been working on is that if I want to be the best, to be the greatest then this is nothing compared to what it is going to be. It’s good preparation for the future.


“I want to be the best, so being in the spotlight, I have to get used to it. I had a lot of learning to do last year in my development for me, for my teammates. I want to be a leader and bring (Stanford wrestling) with me.


Another talented rookie, Rutgers’ Sammy Alvarez took out North Dakota State veteran Cam Sykora for the 133-pound title. He beat top-seeded Micky Phillippi of Pittsburgh in the semifnals. With Nick Suriano in redshirt, the Scarlett Knights appear to be strong at the weight class for the next few years.


West Virginia’s Noah Adams stunned Stanford’s Nathan Traxler with a pin in the 197-pound title tilt, while Iowa State, without most of their starters, crowned heavyweight Gannon Gremmel, who won by injury default over Northern Colorado’s Dalton Robertson Thursday night.


Adams was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.

Leaders of the pack


Popolizio has turned the Wolfpack into an annual contender thanks in part to student-athletes like Hayden and Trent Hidlay. The Pennsylvania products each made the finals, Trent falling to DePrez and Hayden, now the hunted, cruising to a title.


Trent, a redshirt-freshman, won a pair of state titles at Lewistown High, while Hayden has already established himself among collegiate wrestling’s elite, earning a trip to the 2018 NCAA finals and finishing fourth last March. Hayden improved to 68-6 for his career.


“Unbelievable leaders and we are incredibly lucky to have them in our program,” Popolizio said. “They do everything right in everything they do; they win on the mat, but they work just as hard off the mat, just awesome quality kids. You know you are going to get everything they have, win or lose. They are fun to watch because they want to put points on the board.”


Hayden has gone from hunter to hunted with the graduation of Penn State’s Jason Nolf.


“The last two years I’ve had to wrestle arguably the best wrestler across both weight classes,” Hayden said. “Against Jason Nolf and some of the guys I’ve faced, I feel like I’ve learned so much. I was young, wide-eyed against experienced guys; there was a learning curve and I feel like I’m battled tested and ready to win.


“I’ve evolved. The best guys are the ones who are keeping the pace up for seven minutes. Nolf never took a step back … that’s what I want to do. The speed and strength are there and I have to use that to my advantage.”

Flying Cardinal?


Jason Borelli, in his 11th season at Stanford, has to be excited about the next two months and couple of years with the hammers in his room. A program, if this week is any indication, has the ability to be among the nation’s top 10 come March.


Real Woods and Shane Griffith, both redshirt-freshmen, and Nathan Traxler, a junior who reached the Round of 12 at 197 pounds in Pittsburgh last March, all made the finals this week. Joining that trio is true freshman Jaden Abas, son of former Fresno State stud Gerry Abas. The top seed at 149 pounds, Requir van der Merwe, was sixth.


“Very young, a lot of potential,” Borelli said. “The good thing is that we are starting to really value and appreciate the idea of getting better at wrestling. Sometimes we get a lot of talent, but sometimes kids think they have it all figured out and this group doesn’t; they really value the hard work and the process. That is exciting for us because we felt like we identified some talented kids with the work ethic to keep getting better. Talent only goes so far.”


Stanford’s best NCAA finish is 11th. Could they top that in March, and along with Arizona State, give the Pac-12 two top-10 finishers?


“We try and not focus on outcome-based goals of top 10 or placing someplace. We’ve set a goal of a certain number of points, like 60, and the national tournament. And that puts you inside the top 10, maybe top six, not really sure, but over the years 50ish is a good number. We have a couple of hammers who we feel, if they continue to work, can compete for a national title. But that’s two months away. It’s a daily process and we still need to get better.”


Nittany Lions like Chattanooga



Although Penn State was not in attendance, 174-pounder Carter Starocci and 197-pounder Michael Beard, plus 165-pounder Joe Lee, all showed that Penn State power Scuffle fans have grown accustomed too. Scarocci sported Mark Hall’s singlet in the finals – Hall won the 2019 Scuffle crown at the same weight class.


“That’s my boy, I love Mark on and off the mat,” Scarocci said. “It’s our thing, coming to the Scuffle and seeing the competition.


“I’m not focusing on wins and losses right now, just getting better every day.”

With Hall, Vincenzo Jozeph, among others, in room, finding workout partners is not a problem.


“Everyone is good,” said the Pennsylvania state champion. “Every day you have to be ready to go, but that’s how you get better. We have so much fun in that room. To be a national champ you have to do what it takes. I love battling against those guys. They’ve walked the path I want to walk.”

SOUTHERN SCUFFLE

At Chattanooga, Tenn., January 1-2



125 pounds

1st - Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) MD Luke Werner (Lock Haven), 10-0

3rd - Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) DEC Logan Treaster (Navy), 2-1

5th - Caleb Smith (Appalachian State) M FOR Michael Mcgee (Old Dominion)

7th - Sean Carter (Appalachian State) DEC Nic Aguilar (Rutgers), 3-2


133 pounds

1st - Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) dec. Cam Sykora (North Dakota State), 5-4

3rd - Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) maj. dec. Kai Orine (NC State), 10-1

5th - Cole Manley (Lock Haven) dec. Devan Turner (Oregon State), 7-4 TB2

7th - Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado) dec. Casey Cobb (Navy), 6-4


141

1st - Real Woods (Stanford) dec. Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State), 6-1

3rd - Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State) dec. Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven), 3-1

5th - Cole Manley (Lock Haven) dec. Devan Turner (Oregon State), 7-4 TB2

7th - Evan Cheek (Cleveland State) medical forfeit Tariq Wilson (NC State)


149 pounds

1st - Jaden Abas (Stanford) dec. Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado), 3-2

3rd - Colston Diblasi (George Mason) pin Jonathan Milner (Appalachian State), 4:26

5th - Tanner Smith (Tennessee-Chattanooga) medical forfeit Requir Van der merwe (Stanford)

7th - Evan Cheek (Cleveland State) medical forfeit Tariq Wilson (NC State)


157 pounds

1st - Hayden Hidlay (NC State) maj. dec. Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider), 10-0

3rd - Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State) dec. Matt Zovistoski (Appalachian State), 3-1

5th - Luke Weber (North Dakota State) dec. Hunter Willits (Oregon State), 3-0

7th - Jason Kraisser (Campbell) dec. Jaden Van Maanen (North Dakota State), 7-5


165 pounds

1st - Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec. Tanner Skidgel (Navy), 2-1

3rd - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State) dec.Thomas Bullard (NC State), 9-3

5th - Joe Lee (Penn State) dec. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh), 10-3

7th - Brett Donner (Rutgers) medical forfeit Ebed Jarrell (Drexel)


174 pounds

1st - Carter Starocci (Penn State) dec. Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh), 11-6

3rd - Daniel Bullard (NC State) dec. Chris Foca (Finger Lakes RTC), 4-2 SV

5th - Neal Richards (Virginia Military Institute) dec. Dean Sherry (Rider), 7-6

7th - Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State) dec. Jake Logan (Lehigh), 6-5


184 pounds

1st - Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. Trent Hidlay (NC State), 3-2

3rd - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) maj. dec. Matthew Waddell (Tennessee-Chattanooga), 13-1

5th - David Key (Naval Academy Prep School) medical forfeit Anthony Montalvo (Oklahoma State)

7th - Alan Clothier (Northern Colorado) maj. dec. Colt Doyle (Oregon State), 11-2


197 pounds

1st - Noah Adams (West Virginia) pin Nathan Traxler (Stanford), 2:22

3rd - Ethan Laird (Rider) dec. Michael Beard (Penn State), 9-7

5th - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) dec. Jacob Cardenas (Finger Lakes RTC), 7-3

7th - Jordan Pagano (Rutgers) medical forfeit Nick Reenan (NC State)


285 pounds

1st - Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) inj. dft. Dalton Robertson (Northern Colorado), 1:14

3rd - Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh) dec. Brandon Metz (North Dakota State), 6-0

5th - Lewis Fernandes (Finger Lakes RTC) dec. Cary Miller (Appalachian State), 9-3

7th - Deonte Wilson (NC State) dec. Dan Stibral (North Dakota State), 7-2

Team Standings

1 Oklahoma State 116

2 NC State 109

3 Stanford 99.5

4 Pittsburgh 93

5 North Dakota State 92.5

6 Northern Colorado 85

7 Rutgers 84

8 Rider 72.5

9 Appalachian State 67

10 Lock Haven 64.5

11 Navy 63

12 West Virginia 47

13 Tennessee-Chattanooga 46

14 George Mason 45.5

15 Iowa State 39.5

16 Cal State Bakersfield 37.5

17 Air Force 36.5

18 Oregon State 33

18 Virginia Military Institute 33

20 Binghamton 31


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