What I learned in College Wrestling Week 3

By Josh Liebman, TOM Columnist

Cutting out a niche- Rollie Peterkin- After surprising most us by starting the season at 141lbs for the Binghamton Open, Peterkin dropped down to 133 and has been on a tear going 7-0 with only two of those bouts being regular decisions. Raising his record to 10-1 Peterkin seems to be finding his comfort zone and I’m interested to see how he fairs at the Southern Scuffle or more likely the Midlands in the month of December. Rollie has been a blue chip wrestler since his prep days and is looking to break thru from the round of 12 and become an All-American this season. We should have a better idea where he stands in the 133 mix.

Not a Exact Science - A few weeks ago some people felt I was harsh on Rutgers after there showing in the Oklahoma Gold, well I guess now they get to say “I told you so” after RU’s very impressive weekend at the Northeast duals. The Scarlet Knights went 3-0 including a win over 12# Missouri, which might have been the biggest win for the program to date. December should be interesting for Rutgers more on the individual level as they have George Mason and Princeton coming in and there are some great individual match ups in those duals, plus I am really interested in seeing how Rutgers stacks up at the midlands. In the past RU has brought only 1 or 2 wrestlers but this year we can expect almost a full squad and a few guys with legitimate chances of placing high.

Look Beyond the Numbers- Sometimes a wrestlers record can be deceiving, take the case of George Masons 184lber Bagna Tovuujav. Holding a record of 1-4 on the season you may think he is a liability in the line up, not true at all, all of Tovuujavs losses come by 1point including one to Lehigh’s number 9# ranked Robert Hamlin. Last season he was 30-10 and a CAA runner up. He may fly under the radar but if he can get his offense going he may be a surprise at 184 this season especially considering that folkstyle is new to him and he had never wrestled it before he came to St Benedicts Prep in high school.

Keep Me Out of the Empire State- The Northeast Duals is a road trip Dom Bradley will want to forget, as the 2# Ranked HWT went 0-3. It is not as devastating as it sounds all three of his losses were to top ten wrestlers. It’s safe to say he will probably bounce back from this and be a threat all year but a 0-3 day never feels good and the fact that he seemed to fade later in matches is something he will have to go back to work on.

The Adam Frey Challenge- As most of you know the book about Adam Frey and his blogs came out last week. Adams story is one that affected the entire wrestling community and me personally. John Smith felt that Adam’s stories and blogs were important enough that he bought books for his entire staff and team. We all know that coach Smith is a legend in the wrestling community and a class act, I wanted to take a moment to thank him for supporting the Adam Frey Foundation and I recommend all wrestlers, coaches and fans to find out more about the Adam Frey Challenge and The Adam Frey Foundation through one of three ways www.adamfrey.US www.adamfreybook.com and on facebook @adam frey foundation.