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Men’s College Notebook: Ohio State Remains Undefeated, 133-Pound Weight Class Gets Deeper

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by Brian Reinhardt

Nick Feldman of Ohio State competes at the 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic

Nick Feldman of Ohio State competes at the 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic

THE Ohio State

#2 Ohio State continues its undefeated campaign, up to 14-0 now in duals, as the Buckeyes scored a pair of top-10 road wins this weekend. First, it was a 29-9 win at #9 Minnesota on Friday night, then an exciting 17-16 victory at #6 Nebraska on Sunday afternoon.


Against the Gophers, Ohio State’s back-up at 125 pounds, Vinny Kilkeary, started the dual with a 4-1 upset over #9 Jore Volk. The Buckeyes won each of the first five bouts and jumped out to a commanding 20-0 lead.


The dual against the Cornhuskers was much closer on Sunday, coming down to the final bout at heavyweight. Nebraska took a 16-14 lead into the final bout, #3 Nick Feldman taking on #4 AJ Ferrari. For the second time this year, Feldman claimed victory over Ferrari, a takedown in extra time, and this time gave the Buckeyes the team win.

This marked the Buckeyes’ second wins of the season over both Minnesota (29-6) and Nebraska (33-3) as they faced them at the National Duals back in November.

Another True Freshman Joins the 133-Pound Conversation

Two weeks ago, the conversation was about Jax Forrest enrolling a semester early and joining the Oklahoma State lineup at 133 pounds. It appears he is well on his way to not redshirting as he took out #26 Gage Walker of Missouri this weekend via 16-1 tech fall.


Now, another true freshman will be joining the national rankings and a contender for the title at arguably the deepest weight this year, Virginia Tech’s Aaron Seidel.


The #10 overall recruit on FloWrestling’s Big Board, it appeared Seidel was going to redshirt until the Hokies announced last week that #16 Dillon Campbell was lost for the season due to injury.


The freshly anointed starter hit the ground running in the Virginia Tech lineup this past weekend, as his first bout was against 2025 All-American #7 Tyler Knox of Stanford. No problem for Seidel, as he dominated the bout for a 12-0 major decision.

Seidel had earlier made a name for himself by winning the title at the Midlands back in December. There, he scored a tech fall over All-American Dylan Shawver of Rutgers.


The Hokies’ 2025 recruiting class was ranked #4 nationally, and the three highest-ranked recruits have all made their way into the lineup as true freshmen. Seidel now at 133 pounds, #14 Ryan Burton at 174 pounds and #24 Collin Gaj at 149 pounds.


ACC Heavyweights Gear up for Weekend Battle


While Seidel might have been the story coming into the Virginia Tech-Stanford dual, it was one of the best of the weekend.


The Cardinal closed the gap to within two team points with a minor upset at 197 pounds, as #17 Angelo Posada went for bonus points with a 14-3 major decision over #15 Sonny Sasso.

Heavyweight was a winner-take-all bout, and #16 Jimmy Mullen left little doubt with a first-period fall.

Fellow ACC heavyweight NC State took out rival North Carolina for the 13th straight time, 24-10. The Pack was powered behind true freshman Will Denny’s 10-2 major decision over #10 Bryce Hepner at 165 pounds.

The Pack will host the Hokies Friday night in what is widely considered one of the top duals of every season. The winner will more than likely claim the 2026 ACC Dual Championship. You have to go back to 2014 to find the last time neither NC State nor Virginia Tech had the best regular season record in the ACC (Pittsburgh).


Weekly Penn State Check-In


It is a theme in these weekend recaps, Penn State dominated Big 10 action. Back-to-back shutouts over Indiana (48-0) and at Maryland (51-0). Not only did the Nittany Lions win all 20 bouts, but 19 went for bonus points. The lone exception was a 15-9 decision against Indiana. 


It might have gotten lost in the shuffle, but the bout at 149 pounds in the Maryland dual is something you do not see every day. #1 Shane Van Ness gave up a 7-point cradle to #9 Carter Young to open the scoring, but then reeled off 10-straight takedowns for the tech fall win.

Penn State improves to 5-0 in Big Ten duals. The Nittany Lions have four shutouts in those five duals, outscored their foes 228-3, and have won 49 of the 50 individual matches.


But now it gets interesting. Over the next three weekends, three top-10 duals: hosts #6 Nebraska, at #10 Michigan and the showdown of the year Feb. 13 vs. #2 Ohio State in the Bryce Jordan Center.


‘Dropped Headgear’ Costs Princeton Dual


A lot of varying opinions on the social media platform X for what transpired in the Rider-Princeton match this weekend.


In the dual, Rider jumped out to an 11-0 lead after the first two bouts, but Princeton stormed back, winning six straight to grab a 19-11 advantage. But Rider scored a fall and a decision in the final two matches for the 20-19 dual win.


But what happened following the 157-pound bout directly impacted the outcome. After Rocco Camilla claimed a 4-1 win with a takedown at the buzzer, he walked to his coaches and dropped/tossed his headgear just off the mat. The official saw it and deducted a team point from Princeton for tossing his headgear before the handshake (see the video below).


If that team point had not been taken away, the dual would have ended 20-20, and Princeton would have won on criteria, winning six of the 10 bouts.