Mark Ironside, Cornell shenanigans, on like Donkey Kong, do it right & give it 110%, and more…

Hi Ya’ll 👋

Welcome to Week #11 of the Wrestling Snacks newsletter.

Christmas is right around the corner! I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you enjoy the holiday season with your family and friends.

This week saw a lot of chatter in college wrestling centered around the Iowa State vs Cornell dual that took place at the National Collegiate Duals. Fans were super excited for what was thought to be a very exciting dual meet between two top-ranked teams with a lot of great matchups between ranked wrestlers. Instead, Cornell sat starters at 125, 133, 157, and 165, which would have been some of the most exciting matchups between ranked opponents in the dual. The fans didn’t like this, with a lot of complaining going around the social media world about ducking matches to protect seeds for the NCAA tournament. Coach Grey at Cornell responded to his fanbase with an email regarding his athletes having injuries, and he did not want to risk further injury.

I like Coach Grey and think he does a phenomenal job at Cornell. So, it's not my intent to pass judgment. At the end of the day, the fans want what fans want, and the coaches and athletes want what they want. We want to see key match-ups, excitement, and more publicity to grow the sport, and the athletes want to win titles. Sometimes those two things don’t align. I’ll leave it up to you to decide what you think about it.

Either way, it made for some fun conversations and some great buzz around the social media world. I did want to share one of the funnier things I saw regarding the instance, that came from a fan who was hoping to see a great dual meet.

Enjoy:

Let’s GO 💪

News Bites

• 🌪️ Cyclones Defeat #3 Cornell at Collegiate Duals: Fans extremely disappointed in what many say was a “blatant tactic to protect seeds for the NCAA tournament.”

• 📧 Cornell coach Mike Grey’s email to the fans.

• 🤼‍♂️ No. 10 Ohio State edges No. 2 NC State, 21-20.

• 🥴 NCAA D1 125lbs Rankings is a MESS.

• 🎓 Ivy League To Launch Postseason Wrestling Tournament Starting in 2025.

• 🤼‍♂️ 2023 Senior Nationals Results:

  • Men’s Freestyle: 57 kg: Spencer Lee won by decision over Nico Megaludis (Dec 6-2), 65 kg: Andrew Alirez won by decision over Beau Bartlett (Dec 8-0), 74 kg: Quincy Monday won by tech fall over Alex Marinelli (TF 14-2), 86 kg: Alex Dieringer won by decision over Mark Hall (Dec 6-0), 97 kg: Kollin Moore won by tech fall over Nathan Jackson (TF 12-2), 125 kg: Dominique Bradley won by decision over Christian Lance (Dec 2-1).

  • Women's Freestyle: 50 kg: Sage Mortimer won by decision over Samara Chavez (Dec 12-10), 53 kg: Vayle Baker won by decision over Katie Gomez (Dec 5-2), 57 kg: Amanda Martinez won by decision over Alexandra Hedrick (Dec 4-1), 62 kg: Jacarra Winchester won by fall over Ashlynn Ortega (Fall 5:35), 68 kg: Mallory Velte won by forfeit over Cheyenne Bowman (FF), 76 kg: Precious Wieser won by fall over Marlynne Deede (Fall 3:36).

  • Greco-Roman: 60 kg: Ildar Hafizov won by injury default over Hayden Tuma (Inj.), 67 kg: Alejandro Sancho won by decision over Peyton Omania (Dec 7-6), 77 kg: Kamal Bey won by fall over Benjamin Peak (Fall 0:50), 87 kg: Spencer Woods won by tech fall over Mahmoud Sebie (TF 11-3), 97 kg: Alan Vera won by decision over Josef Rau (Dec 12-5), 97 kg: Cohlton Schultz won by decision over Adam Coon (Dec 4-1).

• 😮 High Schoolers Valencia & Mirasola Beat NCAA Champions At Senior Nationals.

• 🎰 2023 Reno Tournament Of Champions Wrestling Results

Snacks

This week's snacks come from Mark Ironside: 2X NCAA National Champion, 4X NCAA All-American and 4X Big Ten Champion for the University of Iowa.

Below are some excerpts from our conversation, along with key takeaways and tips that can be applied to improve yourself as a Coach, Athlete, or wrestling Parent.