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If Dylan Ness is going to pin every ranked wrestler he faces, then Minnesota is not losing the top spot. In the NWCA National Duals final, with Cornell barely breathing, Ness decked Big Red's #10 Realbuto off a first period scramble - and that was the ballgame. An 11-3 Minnesota lead thru 4 weights ballooned to an insurmountable 17-3 advantage at the half, with J Robinson having top-5 ammo in his back pocket from 174 - 285.
J Rob didn't need it. A #14 Palacio overtime fall of Danny Zilberberg, and a #3 Gabe Dean OT2 win over #8 Steinhouse provided some second half entertainment. But J Rob kept 2x defending NCAA champ Tony Nelson off the mat, and the Gophers stomped the life out of Cornell, 24-15. The top 3 teams - Minnesota, Penn State, and Iowa - are simply a cut above everyone else.
| BSD Rank | Last Week | Team | Wins | Losses | Top 20 W's | Top 20 L's | Last Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Minnesota | 12 | 1 | 9 | 1 | W, 25-10 at Ohio State; W, 24-15 vs. Cornell |
| 2 | 2 | Penn State | 14 | 1 | 9 | 1 | W, 23-12 vs. Okie State |
| 3 | 3 | Iowa | 14 | 2 | 7 | 2 | W, 26-6 at Lehigh |
| 4 | 4 | Northern Iowa | 12 | 0 | 4 | 0 | W, 21-12 vs Purdue |
| 5 | 9 | Oklahoma State | 9 | 5 | 3 | 5 | L, 12-23 at Penn State |
| 6 | 6 | Cornell | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | W, 23-20 vs. Oklahoma; L, 15-24 vs Minn |
| 7 | 7 | Michigan | 11 | 4 | 7 | 3 | W, 18-13 at Pitt |
| 8 | 8 | Nebraska | 11 | 2 | 5 | 2 | IDLE |
| 9 | 10 | Missouri | 9 | 2 | 2 | 2 | W, 21-9 vs. Old Dominion |
| 10 | 14 | Ohio State | 12 | 5 | 3 | 5 | L, 10-25 vs. Minnesota; W 23-16 vs OU |
| 11 | 5 | Pitt | 12 | 3 | 4 | 3 | L, 16-17 vs. Edinboro; L, 13-18 vs. Michigan |
| 12 | 12 | Oklahoma | 11 | 5 | 3 | 4 | L, 20-23 vs. Cornell, L, 16-23 at Ohio State |
| 13 | 11 | Wisconsin | 12 | 4 | 6 | 2 | IDLE |
| 14 | 13 | UVA | 18 | 3 | 3 | 3 | W, 34-3 vs. George Mason |
| 15 | 15 | Edinboro | 9 | 3 | 2 | 3 | W, 17-16 at Pitt |
| 16 | 18 | Virginia Tech | 17 | 4 | 4 | 4 | L, 0-34 vs. Cornell; W, 22-17 vs. Chatt, W, 22-15 vs. CMU |
| 17 | UR | Oregon State | 11 | 7 | 3 | 5 | W, 18-17 vs Illinois |
| 18 | UR | Central Michigan | 10 | 10 | 1 | 7 | W, 19-13 vs. Illinois; W, 19-18 vs. IaSt; L, 15-22 vs. VaTech |
| 19 | 16 | NDSU | 10 | 6 | 2 | 6 | W, 28-10 vs. Chatt; L, 14-23 vs. Oregon St |
| 20 | 17 | Chattanooga | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | L, 10-28 vs. NDSU; L, 17-22 vs. VaTech |
Northern Iowa is now the lone unbeaten. But how does #5 Oklahoma State lose to #2 Penn State by a 12-23 score, and climb 4 spots in the BSD rankings? Because they're better than everyone below them, despite two holes at 184 and 197. Cornell proved that with its narrow win over OU, and by getting boat-raced by Goldy. Credit former #5 Pitt with an assist, after dropping a pair of duals to Edinboro (on 3rd or 4th criteria) and Michigan this weekend, as well.
Welcome #17 Oregon State back into the land of the ranked, after they finished 4th/5th at National Duals. And give a hearty hello to new #18 Central Michigan, who beat Illinois and Iowa State to finish 7th/8th. The Chippewas wrestled well.
Dropped From The Rankings
| Last Week | Team | Wins | Losses | Top 20 W's | Top 20 L's | Last Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Iowa State | 9 | 8 | 1 | 5 | L, 16-19 vs. Kent St; L, 18-19 vs. CMU |
| 20 | Stanford | 15 | 5 | 1 | 3 | L, 19-20 at Northwestern |
Stanford spent a single week among the living. Then they traveled to Evanston, received a forfeit at 174, and still lost to the Cats. Iowa State's weekend wasn't much better. The National Duals 5-seed lost to unranked Kent State and Central Michigan, and did not place, despite 8 out of 14 teams claiming a place. Not good times in Ames.
Others Receiving Votes
| Last Week | Team | Wins | Losses | Top 20 W's | Top 20 L's | Last Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NR | Northwestern | 7 | 7 | 1 | 6 | W, 20-19 vs. Stanford |
| NR | Illinois | 8 | 8 | 0 | 7 | L, 17-18 Oregon St; L, 13-19 Cent. Michigan |
| NR | Kent State | 11 | 11 | 2 | 8 | W, 19-16 vs Iowa State; L, 4-32 at Ohio St |
| NR | Lehigh | 8 | 6 | 1 | 4 | L, 6-26 vs. Iowa |
| NR | Old Dominion | 8 | 9 | 2 | 5 | L, 9-29 at Missouri |
I should have mentioned ODU last week. The Monarchs had a disappointing loss to Mizzou, but Steve Martin's fellas have had a great season. Their 2 wins over top 20 squads equals Cornell.
Illinois' freshmen-laded squad oozes talent, but bleeds for lack of consistency.
The Week In Upsets
| Wt | Upset |
|---|---|
| 125 | Youtsey (Mich) dec. #20 Zanetta (Pitt), 5-3SV |
| 133 | Bruno (Mich) dec. #19 Mack (Pitt), 6-1 |
| 133 | Gustafson (VaTech) maj. #13 Soto (UTC), 14-5 |
| 133 | #8 Thorn (MN) dec. #5 DiJulius (OSU), 8-5 |
| 141 | Dutton (Mich) dec. #19 Bright (Pitt), 6-1 |
| 141 | Sabatello (Purdue) dec. #16 Lazor (UNI), 14-10 |
| 141 | Gardner (Lehigh) dec. #9 Dziewa (Iowa), 5-3 |
| 149 | #17 Neibert (VaTech) dec. #10 Sakaguchi (ORSt), 10-6 |
| 149 | Patten (UNI) dec. #20 Nelsen (Purdue), 2-0 |
| 149 | #6 Villalonga (Cornell) dec. #2 Maple (OU), 3-1SV |
| 157 | Mastriani (VaTech) WBF #20 Smith (CMU) |
| 157 | LaValle (Mizzou) dec. #17 Warner (ODU), 7-2 |
| 165 | Morelli (Pitt) dec. #6 Yates (Mich), 3-1 |
| 174 | England (Mizzou) dec. #15 Curling (ODU), 10-3 |
| 174 | Kissel (Purdue) dec. #20 Caldwell (UNI), 4-2 |
| 174 | Marsh (Kent St) dec. #8 Weatherman (ISU), 8-7 |
| 174 | #9 Ottinger (CMU) dec. #8 Weatherman (ISU), 4-3 |
| 197 | Bennett (Cornell) WBF #20 Penny (VaTech) |
| 197 | #7 Heflin (OSU) dec. #5 Rutt (OU), 6-3 |
| 197 | #7 Heflin (OSU) dec. #3 Schiller (MN), 8-4 |
| 285 | Peck (UTC) WBF Walz (VaTech), 2:10 |
| 285 | Shaw (Cleveland St) dec. Velasco (Rider), 8-3 |
Tip of the BSD ballcap to Nick Heflin, who beat a pair of top-5 guys on Monday, back-to-back. And credit to Kevin Dresser and Virginia Tech. They shook off the injuries and an opening round 34-0 beating from Cornell, to come back strong at National Duals, finishing 4th/5th, in no small part to some solid upsets from their first 6 weights.
