9 Top-10 Upsets In Final Week Of Dual Season
9 Top-10 Upsets In Final Week Of Dual Season
The drama filled final week of the regular season had nine upsets over wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Here are the biggest upset stories of the week.
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The final week of the NCAA dual meet season was as unpredictable as any. Of the 26 upsets we tracked down, nine were over wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Check out those top 10 upsets then read through our list of all the upsets we could find. As always, if you see an upset we missed, email david.bray@flosports.tv so we can be sure to include it.
184 is Bananas! #7 Bonaccorsi Over #2 Bolen
We knew that there would be a new #1 at 184 this week after the news of Zahid Valencia's suspension, but most expected that to be Virginia Tech's #2 Hunter Bolen.
That was before #7 Nino Bonaccorsi beat Bolen 10-8 in tiebreakers in a dual between Pitt and Virginia Tech. If Valencia remains suspended through the postseason, Bonaccorsi will be among the contenders for the NCAA title at 184.
SO THAT HAPPENED??#pinzburgh » #H2P pic.twitter.com/q7srXDzTYP
— Pitt Wrestling (@Pitt_WRES) February 23, 2020
#18 Pagano Over #3 Brucki in 19 Point Match
Jordan Pagano and Patrick Brucki squared off in Rutgers and Princeton's B1G-Ivy Rivalry dual. Brucki sustained a leg injury early in the match, but that didn't stop he and Pagano from putting 19 points on the board.
Pagano who took the match in the end to further scramble the rankings in a 197 weight class that has been hard to predict this season.
Sheets Tops #4 Young for Biggest Win of His Career
Oklahoma State's #18 Wyatt Sheets has been putting together a solid season at 157 this year for the Cowboys, but he has yet to notch any wins that would put him in the All-American conversation.
That changed on Sunday night when Sheets beat Iowa's #4 Kaleb Young 9-4. Not only was this the biggest win of Sheets' career, but it also showed his improvement as Young beat Sheets 9-5 in last year's dual. A Sheets of this caliber could make an impact on where Oklahoma State finishes as a team at NCAAs.
Blockhus Beats Moran, Helps UNI Beat Wisconsin
UNI freshman Michael Blockhus announced himself as a factor at 141 with his sixth-place finish at CKLV, but he had arguably the biggest win of the year on Thursday night over #4 Tristan Moran of Wisconsin.
Not only did Blockhus' win add complexity to the 141 rankings, but it also helped propel UNI past Wisconsin 20-18 in one of the week's premier dual meets.
Blockhus will probably still be ranked outside the top eight but could earn a top eight seed if he is able to beat #8 Ian Parker and #7 Dom Demas at the Big 12 Championships.
Red Redraws Big Ten 141 Bracket With Win Over McKee
Chad Red and Mitch McKee were ranked just one spot apart at #5 and #6 in the country, but Red's win over McKee could cause a big shakeup to the 141 seeds at the Big Ten Championships.
Before this weekend, Nomad had predicted Chad Red to be the #5 seed behind Lee, Pletcher, Moran, and McKee. This weekend's results could push Red all the way to the three seed, which creates completely different quarterfinal and semifinal matchups.
#8 Skatzka Moves Series Close with #6 Labriola
Devin Skatzka and Mikey Labriola met for the seventh time on Friday in one of the best current rivalries at 174. Skatzka earned a 7-2 victory for his third career win over Labriola.
These two have put up all kinds of results over the course of their rivalry, and if they meet at the Big Ten or NCAA Championships, anything can happen.
Verkleeren and DiBlasi Upset #8 Clarke
American's #8 Kizhan Clarke took two upset losses on the weekend to George Mason's #21 Colston DiBlasi and Penn State's #17 Jarod Verkleeren.
Top-eight wins are hard to come by and All-American honors for either DiBlasi or Verkleeren would mean big things for their programs. DiBlasi would be the first George Mason All-American in the Frank Beasley era. Verkleeren's potential All-American points could go a long way in helping Penn State push for an NCAA team title.
Teemer Rounds Into Form with 2 Big Upsets
At the beginning of the season, ASU fans had big expectations for 157-pounder Jacori Teemer. His season hasn't been as successful as they would have hoped, but he had two solid upsets this weekend that suggest he just might be ready to make a move in the postseason.
On Friday, he took out #9 Josh Humphreys of Lehigh, then on Sunday, he beat #11 AC Headlee of North Carolina. Teemer will be the favorite to win the Pac-12 Conference and could be extremely dangerous at NCAA's.
All the Upsets
125
125: #22 Liam Cronin, Indiana D;9-7 #16 Fabian Gutierrez, Chattanooga
125: McGwire Midkiff, North Dakota State D;8-7 #25 Daniel Vega, South Dakota State
133
133: #21 Allan Hart, Missouri D;9-5 #16 Todd Small, Iowa State
133: Jaime Hernandez, North Carolina D;8-5 #24 Louie Hayes, Virginia
141
141: #11 Michael Blockhus, Northern Iowa D;9-4 #4 Tristan Moran, Wisconsin
141: #6 Chad Red, Nebraska F;3:53 #5 Mitch McKee, Minnesota
141: #23 DJ Lloren, Fresno State D;3-2 #15 Dylan Duncan, Illinois
149
149: #21 Colston DiBlasi, George Mason D;4-1 #8 Kizhan Clarke, American
149: #17 Jarod Verkleeren, Penn State D;3-1 #8 Kizhan Clarke, American
149: #23 Tanner Smith, Chattanooga D;12-8 #14 Graham Rooks, Indiana
157
157: #18 Wyatt Sheets, Oklahoma State D;9-4 #4 Kaleb Young, Iowa
157: #23 Jacori Teemer, Arizona State D;8-6 #9 Josh Humphreys, Lehigh
157: Justin McCoy, Virginia D;3-2 #11 Austin Headlee, North Carolina
157: #23 Jacori Teemer, Arizona State D;3-2 #11 Austin Headlee, North Carolina
157: Taleb Rahmani, Pittsburgh D;4-3 #12 BC LaPrade, Virginia Tech
157: Caleb Licking, Nebraska D;6-0 #24 Ryan Thomas, Minnesota
174
174: #8 Devin Skatzka, Minnesota D;7-2 #6 Mikey Labriola, Nebraska
174: DeMichael Franklin, Iowa State D;6-3 #12 Joseph Smith, Oklahoma State
174: Thomas Flitz, Appalachian State D;12-11 #17 Neal Richards, VMI
174: Scott Joll, West Virginia D;9-7 #20 Hayden Hastings, Wyoming
174: Kevin Gschwendtner, SIUE D;7-6 #22 Tyler Morland, Northwestern
174: Spencer Carey, Navy D;3-1 #25 Ben Harvey, Army West Point
184
184: #7 Nino Bonaccorsi, Pittsburgh D;10-8 #2 Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech
184: Jake Hinz, Indiana D;12-7 #13 Matthew Waddell, Chattanooga
184: #25 Travis Stefanik, Princeton D;5-2 #14 Billy Janzer, Rutgers
197
197: #18 Jordan Pagano, Rutgers D;10-9 #3 Patrick Brucki, Princeton