National Duals, '25, thread

NittanyChris

Senior
Dec 3, 2001
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Some wrestlers left this dual meet tournament pretty banged up. Rarely do you wrestle 4 high-level opponents in two days. That typically only happens at Big Tens (maybe) and NCAAs. I’m wondering if some coaches may be forced to rethink this now.
Clearly when Cael talked about doing what's best for his team, he was at least partially referring to the lack of wisdom of having guys wrestle an intense tournament in November. He has a system that builds up his guys so that they're at their peak in March. Why would he change that?
 

Nitlion1986

All-Conference
Apr 13, 2024
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Clearly when Cael talked about doing what's best for his team, he was at least partially referring to the lack of wisdom of having guys wrestle an intense tournament in November. He has a system that builds up his guys so that they're at their peak in March. Why would he change that?
The entire season is designed to peak in mid March. He also will just drill their rear-ends into the ground and then send them out to compete against top end talent expecting them to overcome fatigue to win. He doesn't design anything to peak against Iowa, but he never sends a tired team out to grapple the Hawks. I love a fresh Lion team wrestling Hawks. The beatings are so severe it causes severe reactions like the Iowa money man to give central PA high school juniors 5 million bucks.
 

Joejitsu

Sophomore
Jun 10, 2025
155
175
43
Some wrestlers left this dual meet tournament pretty banged up. Rarely do you wrestle 4 high-level opponents in two days. That typically only happens at Big Tens (maybe) and NCAAs. I’m wondering if some coaches may be forced to rethink this now.
if it is scrapes and cuts... worth it bc of how it shows you how you have to mentally prepare... I am not aware of more serious injuries???? I think Ryder will benefit from this... He will learn that people are not going to lay down bc Zach Ryder walked out on the matt.... Even Ferrari for that matter... should learn that he needs some offense to go with his elite defense. Overall great event in my opinion. I feel like PSU gets some intel on our opponents that is going to take them weeks to get on us! So feel like Cael is playing chess!
 

Nitlion1986

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Apr 13, 2024
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Clearly when Cael talked about doing what's best for his team, he was at least partially referring to the lack of wisdom of having guys wrestle an intense tournament in November. He has a system that builds up his guys so that they're at their peak in March. Why would he change that?
The entire season is designed to peak in mid March. He also will just drill their rear-ends into the ground and then send them out to compete against top end talent expecting them to overcome fatigue to win. He doesn't design anything to peak against Iowa, but he never sends a tired team out to grapple the Hawks. I love a fresh Lion team wrestling Hawks. The beatings are so severe it causes severe reactions like the Iowa money man to give central PA high school juniors 5 million bucks.
 
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shotofespresso

Sophomore
Nov 7, 2021
39
112
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OTOH, the Hawkeyes got three of their wins and three of their four takedowns in single takedown SV matches. So those could have gone the other way quite easily.

It's hard to put a shine on a match where you get one regulation takedown as a team. But people will try.
Agree with you on Iowa and the finals match but to be fair, they did wrestle well against Okie State in the semis.. That was fun to watch..
 
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Tom McAndrew

BWI Staff
Staff member
Oct 27, 2021
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Most of this episode of BaschAMania is focused on the National Duals, so I'm placing this in here.



:00 - Intro & National Duals Overall Thoughts
12:00 - The Freshmen Shine
17:54 - Reviewing the Action, Starting with Oklahoma State/Cornell
23:20 - Iowa vs Missouri
30:45 - NC State vs Northern Iowa
33:33 - Nebraska vs Lehigh
35:35 - Minnesota vs Virginia Tech, Ohio State/Wyoming
38:00 - Iowa vs Illinois
40:20 - Oklahoma State vs NC State
47:20 - Ohio State vs Minnesota
50:13 - Nebraska vs Michigan
54:10 - Iowa/Oklahoma State
55:50 - Jax Forrest Wrestling Second Semester at Oklahoma State
01:12:00 - Ohio State Dominates Nebraska
01:19:30 - Nebraska Stock Down?
01:23:00 - Ohio State Dominates Iowa in the Finals 27-12
01:31:20 - Some Overall Weight Thoughts
01:34:15 - Reading the Chat
01:40:00 - Penn State Dominates & Other Weekend Results
01:49:10 - After Show
 

golfer1922

Sophomore
Dec 20, 2017
44
102
18
Did they hit Robles for stalling? Many styles are boring and not appealing that doesn't mean it's "stalling". Most fans don't understand stalling and how it's called they just like yelling at cloud
Delete
 
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Headlock

Senior
Dec 28, 2023
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The BS talk has officially begun. On Christian Pyles podcast directly following the Duals last evening, one of his compatriots in reviewing the OSU v Iowa match made reference to Penn State. He offered that he can "see a way"
that OSU wins the first four bouts vs PSU. The gauntlet has been laid down!!
 

Corby2

All-Conference
Jul 14, 2025
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The BS talk has officially begun. On Christian Pyles podcast directly following the Duals last evening, one of his compatriots in reviewing the OSU v Iowa match made reference to Penn State. He offered that he can "see a way"
that OSU wins the first four bouts vs PSU. The gauntlet has been laid down!!
6-4 is best case scenario for ohio St. 9-1 is the worst. My opinion it's probably a 7-3 dual
 

Goggles Paisano

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Feb 6, 2018
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On balance how can you not love the excitement and matchups this event delivered. Very entertaining, especially during what has traditionally been a yawn-fest month for the wrestling season.

Given it's only mid-November, how many of the shockers may have markedly different results in January let alone March? I saw rust on some whole others were amazingly shiny and new. Lots of freshman excelling. Even a guy like Buzakis. No signs of a tough cut or gassing, he may have found his ideal weight, and you have to admit the kid is dangerous. Raises the anticipation for a bout with Luke. I feel confident.

I really appreciated how much fun you can have as a fan to just focus on watching great wrestling without having to get fixated on our guys or the result. Most of the rest of the nation didn't get that treat.

I remain good with us punting indefinitely.
 

Lil Nicky Scarfo

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Jul 1, 2025
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The BS talk has officially begun. On Christian Pyles podcast directly following the Duals last evening, one of his compatriots in reviewing the OSU v Iowa match made reference to Penn State. He offered that he can "see a way"
that OSU wins the first four bouts vs PSU. The gauntlet has been laid down!!
let me guess - JD Rader. I’m only 11 minutes in, so haven’t got there yet.
 
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Potterlion

Junior
Jan 25, 2011
92
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The BS talk has officially begun. On Christian Pyles podcast directly following the Duals last evening, one of his compatriots in reviewing the OSU v Iowa match made reference to Penn State. He offered that he can "see a way"
that OSU wins the first four bouts vs PSU. The gauntlet has been laid down!!

Just about anything is hypothetically possible, but if we're talking about a .5% chance, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. 141 is the only weight in the first 4 where tOSU would be favored.
 
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nerfstate

All-Conference
Oct 11, 2021
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Could Ohio State win the 1st 4 bouts against us? It’s not insane to ponder, but I’m not picking it ever.

McCrone pinned Luke last year and Bouzakis can seemingly pin anyone (or lose badly). I do think Luke is the more consistent guy among the 3 and has gained strength and confidence since that fall.

Blaze is 3-0 vs Davino in Freestyle. 7-0 at the 2025 open, and 5-2 & 6-3 in the finals at 2024 U20 WTT. Davino did win in UTB at the 2023 Ironman finals. Blaze is the favorite but favorites don’t always win.

Mendez is a clear favorite.

149 seems the biggest stretch. Stiles has improved. But Shayne is 11-0 vs common opponents (Stiles, 4-5) and he pinned Stiles (and four of the five common foes who beat him) last year at NCAAs.
 
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amattaro

All-Conference
Sep 12, 2017
248
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The BS talk has officially begun. On Christian Pyles podcast directly following the Duals last evening, one of his compatriots in reviewing the OSU v Iowa match made reference to Penn State. He offered that he can "see a way"
that OSU wins the first four bouts vs PSU. The gauntlet has been laid down!!

 

mydome88

Redshirt
Sep 13, 2005
36
49
18
Could Ohio State win the 1st 4 bouts against us? It’s not insane to ponder, but I’m not picking it ever.

McCrone pinned Luke last year and Bouzakis can seemingly pin anyone (or lose badly). I do think Luke is the more consistent guy among the 3 and has gained strength and confidence since that fall.

Blaze is 3-0 vs Davino in Freestyle. 7-0 last year at the open, and 5-2 & 6-3 in the finals at 2024 U20 WTT. Davino did win in UTB at the 2023 Ironman finals. Blaze is the favorite but favorites don’t always win.

Mendez is a clear favorite.

149 seems the biggest stretch. Stiles has improved. But Shayne is 11-0 vs common opponents (Stiles, 4-5) and he pinned Stiles (and four of the five common foes who beat him) last year at NCAAs.

I guess not impossible. I have a feeling we'll get more takedowns than the Hawkeyes did in those 4 matches although if I wrestled all 4 weights I could at least tie that output.
 

Cali_Nittany1

Senior
Dec 11, 2019
283
972
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Could Ohio State win the 1st 4 bouts against us? It’s not insane to ponder, but I’m not picking it ever.

McCrone pinned Luke last year and Bouzakis can seemingly pin anyone (or lose badly). I do think Luke is the more consistent guy among the 3 and has gained strength and confidence since that fall.

Blaze is 3-0 vs Davino in Freestyle. 7-0 last year at the open, and 5-2 & 6-3 in the finals at 2024 U20 WTT. Davino did win in UTB at the 2023 Ironman finals. Blaze is the favorite but favorites don’t always win.

Mendez is a clear favorite.

149 seems the biggest stretch. Stiles has improved. But Shayne is 11-0 vs common opponents (Stiles, 4-5) and he pinned Stiles (and four of the five common foes who beat him) last year at NCAAs.

You're being polite by saying that 149 seems the biggest stretch. Pyles needs thicker glasses.

 

TwoJoints

Freshman
Feb 2, 2025
25
98
13
It would be 1 competition date and Penn st isn't using all the dates so that could've happened. No coach is gonna enter an event like that and enter a team of backups .

Many reasons they didn't go. The fact they want to use it as the actual team national champion down the road and eliminate the team champ in March. The date and the location. Next year u23 is Oct 12-18 in Vegas and I expect the date of the duals to move into December. So if they're ever gonna go it would be next year.
Paycom guy announced during his interview last evening that they’ve already booked the BOK Center for the same weekend next November.

Cael ain’t going next year either for the same reasons he didn’t go this year.
 

nerfstate

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Oct 11, 2021
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I guess not impossible. I have a feeling we'll get more takedowns than the Hawkeyes did in those 4 matches although if I wrestled all 4 weights I could at least tie that output.
I will add that Aaron does have two wins over Mendez, although Jesse has shown considerable improvement since his freshman year, and I’m not sure we’ve yet seen compelling evidence that Aaron has matched it.
 
Oct 12, 2021
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Paycom guy announced during his interview last evening that they’ve already booked the BOK Center for the same weekend next November.

Cael ain’t going next year either for the same reasons he didn’t go this year.
I’ve got a visit to Gallagher IBA Arena on my bucket list. I’d love to see PSU @ Oklahoma State at least once in person. If not, this early season tournament might make sense too.
 

Cali_Nittany1

Senior
Dec 11, 2019
283
972
93
If Ohio State has a good night 8-2 PSU, and less than 5 PSU bonus points. So something around 28 - 6.

Let's take a look at it:
125: Luke vs Bouzakis
Luke is definitely the favorite but Bouzakis has a punchers chance with his pinning ability.
133: Blaze vs Davino
Past results in favor Blaze but we all saw what Davino did to Ayala. That was destruction. This will be an interesting match.
141: Nagao vs Mendez
Mendez is the heavy favorite and should bonus. (I'm tossing Nagao results vs Mendez his freshman year. Mendez is a completely different animal now.)
149: Van Ness vs Stiles
Van Ness is the heavy favorite and should bonus (has a pin last season)
157: Duke vs Cannon
We haven't seen Duke wrestle folkstyle at this level yet and Cannon is no slouch. I'd pick Duke but it's not crazy talk to say Cannon has a chance.
165: Mitch vs it doesn't matter
Obligatory TF
174: Haines vs Kharchla
Haines is the heavy favorite and could bonus
184: Welsh vs Fishback
Welsh is the favorite, bonus unlikely (Fishback has given up bonus just once - to Keckeisen)
197: Barr vs Shumate
Barr is the heavy favorite and should bonus (has a TF last season)
Heavy: Feldman vs Mirasola
Feldman is a heavy favorite, possible bonus

The baseline is 8-2 Penn State. With anOSU's best other chances at 133 and 157 and a yolo chance at 125.
 

Lil Nicky Scarfo

All-Conference
Jul 1, 2025
908
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Let's take a look at it:
125: Luke vs Bouzakis
Luke is definitely the favorite but Bouzakis has a punchers chance with his pinning ability.
133: Blaze vs Davino
Past results in favor Blaze but we all saw what Davino did to Ayala. That was destruction. This will be an interesting match.
141: Nagao vs Mendez
Mendez is the heavy favorite and should bonus. (I'm tossing Nagao results vs Mendez his freshman year. Mendez is a completely different animal now.)
149: Van Ness vs Stiles
Van Ness is the heavy favorite and should bonus (has a pin last season)
157: Duke vs Cannon
We haven't seen Duke wrestle folkstyle at this level yet and Cannon is no slouch. I'd pick Duke but it's not crazy talk to say Cannon has a chance.
165: Mitch vs it doesn't matter
Obligatory TF
174: Haines vs Kharchla
Haines is the heavy favorite and could bonus
184: Welsh vs Fishback
Welsh is the favorite, bonus unlikely (Fishback has given up bonus just once - to Keckeisen)
197: Barr vs Shumate
Barr is the heavy favorite and should bonus (has a TF last season)
Heavy: Feldman vs Mirasola
Feldman is a heavy favorite, possible bonus

The baseline is 8-2 Penn State. With anOSU's best other chances at 133 and 157 and a yolo chance at 125.
Duke is really nasty in folk style

Here he is bumping up in weight to beat Lockett a few years back

 
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Nitlion1986

All-Conference
Apr 13, 2024
662
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Let's take a look at it:
125: Luke vs Bouzakis
Luke is definitely the favorite but Bouzakis has a punchers chance with his pinning ability.
133: Blaze vs Davino
Past results in favor Blaze but we all saw what Davino did to Ayala. That was destruction. This will be an interesting match.
141: Nagao vs Mendez
Mendez is the heavy favorite and should bonus. (I'm tossing Nagao results vs Mendez his freshman year. Mendez is a completely different animal now.)
149: Van Ness vs Stiles
Van Ness is the heavy favorite and should bonus (has a pin last season)
157: Duke vs Cannon
We haven't seen Duke wrestle folkstyle at this level yet and Cannon is no slouch. I'd pick Duke but it's not crazy talk to say Cannon has a chance.
165: Mitch vs it doesn't matter
Obligatory TF
174: Haines vs Kharchla
Haines is the heavy favorite and could bonus
184: Welsh vs Fishback
Welsh is the favorite, bonus unlikely (Fishback has given up bonus just once - to Keckeisen)
197: Barr vs Shumate
Barr is the heavy favorite and should bonus (has a TF last season)
Heavy: Feldman vs Mirasola
Feldman is a heavy favorite, possible bonus

The baseline is 8-2 Penn State. With anOSU's best other chances at 133 and 157 and a yolo chance at 125.
I don't think Nagao is beating Mendez, but I do think it is much more likely Nagao beats Mendez than Feldman bonuses Mirasola.
 
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