133 lbs Final - Ryan Crookham, Lehigh vs Vito Arujau, Cornell | 2023 Journeymen Collegiate Classic

[@Double_deuce22]

This is why wrestling is such an amazing, unmatched sport. Nobody is unbeatable once the whistle blows and until the final whistle. Everything in between is what matters; ask Gable, Lee, Vito, Karelin, etc. Any wrestler that tells you they have never been on the wrong end of one of these matches is not a real wrestler. We have all been there. It is what you do after these stunning defeats that matters. Arnold Palmer said it perfectly; I am paraphrasing to make it applicable to wrestling, you are only as good as your next match. His true quote is "The most important thing about golf is the next shot."

[@JG-re2bb]

That is a great point. I am amazed by the athleticism of some of these younger wrestlers (see also Bassett, Forrest, Raney, Gibson, Blaze, etc). These kids seem to be getting better every year. It is great for the sport

[@lewispedraza996]

What about Cael Sanderson?

[@oscarespinoza-ts2gi]

Cael Sanderson says hi

[@Memnarch]

@@oscarespinoza-ts2gi Exactly bro. When you go undefeated for what 150+ matches? You’re not on the wrong side of any of those matches.

[@Double_deuce22]

@@Memnarch Cael Sanderson is arguably the GOAT in wrestling. On the international circuit he was 13-3 with two of those losses coming when he came back out of retirement. Yes, he suffered losses. I bet he would be the first to tell you he remembers the losses ; albeit there are not many of them. It is also not necessarily about the losses themselves. As wrestlers we also remember the bone headed moves, or over confidence, that almost got us into trouble with an L.

[@KevinStetka]

Love the local-cable-access-quality coverage from FloWrestling.

[@opera1dan2]

Haha so true with a camera set up on a chair in the corner

[@Nogi520]

They charge an arm and a leg too

[@opera1dan2]

@@Nogi520 I subscribed a few times but the quality is so bad is really not worth it and you still get a load of commercials.

[@Nogi520]

@opera1dan2 For That price you would think they would exclude ads or commercials. And provide great quality I guess not that it's sad .

[@marks5757]

3 point take downs are adding a huge new element to the game. I love it

[@shannons1886]

Omg, first I am hearing of this. What are they?

[@roto6500]

3 point takedowns... How long was I asleep?

[@dinocollins720]

@@roto6500 rule change this year. Others too you should look it up big changes

[@vintagemanly]

​@@krewtran8078crookham wins 6-3 if TDs are still 2

[@JesseStevenTrumm3992]

@@roto6500so strange right? New rule this year?

[@TylerDurden215]

Crookham won 3 PA state titles in the 3 years he wrestled. He had multiple wins over Lachlan McNeil, Levi Haines, Ventresca, Ramos and others. His only loses were 1 point decisions to Ventresca, Byrd, and Bouzakis. The kid is legit.

[@kckcmctcrc]

You had me with, ‘he won 3 PA Titles’

[@cyumadbrosummit3534]

@@kckcmctcrc He won't even top 3 at the national championship this year. He got lucky.

[@robertschwarz3076]

Anybody that makes the Lehgh line up is legit.

[@burdawg3000]

im sure he's fantastic. but this is not a legit im better than you situation lol

[@oldtoothlesslion3975]

Crookham took him, great win and imo a good loss for Vito.

[@KevinDavid165]

Crookham did a nice job & wrestled through the funk. Capitalized on each mistake efficiently. Vito didn’t look himself, but that takes NOTHING away from this young man’s accomplishment. Have to be the best wrestler on any given day. Kudos!

[@competitivewrestling4217]

Vito looked fantastic. Seemed to think it wasn't going to be that hard got upset with himself. Top 10 NCAA wrestlers are legit. World class legit.

[@bac8730]

He seemed sluggish at the end, almost like he had no energy. Maybe the weight cut is getting to be too much. The Lehigh wrestler had more left in the tank at the end.

[@KevinKalbach-v9u]

No doubt on the class of the guys. Just thinking he still looked to be in Freestyle mode at times.@@competitivewrestling4217

[@Kenneth-tz4sx]

I gotta say. Vito clearly appeared to be winded. Good cardio frequently results in a 1 or 2 point nod.

[@Vitamin_jp]

Crookham looked damn strong

[@JG-re2bb]

Both wrestlers have incredible speed. Congrats to Crookham for an amazing win

[@richl2501]

0:33 I love the "u-ain't gonna escape my ass whoopin' " seat drag

[@cgmoran91]

That first sequence was so fast I almost thought it was sped up. These first two weekends of wrestling have shown some freshmen surprises. It's going to be a great season for the fans.

[@jeffro4kag206]

I remember as a junior on the high school wrestling team it was only the junior varsity, 121 lbs. but I was the seventh seed in a tournament and I ended up pinning the number one seed in the finals with a headlock 32-second pin it was one of the greatest things that ever happened to me when I was young.. My first match was against the fourth seed and I beat him and then I beat the second seed. My coach said I needed to use the hammer lock that we had been practicing for weeks against this number one guy and that's what I did and it worked!

[@rubeslapointe3091]

This weightclass is extremely tough. Not too big to lose speed or agility but also leaves the window open for guys to be crazy jacked, especially if they cut

[@Nogi520]

Remember last season Vito lost to Sam Latona. It was in the early matches. Then Vito came back like a freight train and was crowned Champion.

[@hartfordwolfpack8678]

Crookham is massive and that TD defense is insane

[@aldrob108]

Already the biggest upset of the year. I didn’t think anyone would beat Vito this year. I thought he was a sure bet to go undefeated. Way to go Ryan. Huge win.

[@JustinSchomer]

Just wait, didn’t take the match like he should have… rematch.!

[@ralphiewigs2208]

This is the LAST result I thought I would see. These young guys (younger than old man Vito) are incredible and fearless. They seem to get better every year.

[@corpsmankind]

Vito has been crushing the world in freestyle. It is different. Also, every dog has his day.

[@TheConservonator]

Wow!! Vito got Vitoed. Repeating as national champ is not going to be a cake walk.

[@fredarroyo7429]

Yea it will but slip ups happen

[@ecs3821]

@@fredarroyo7429 no it absolutely won’t. Shows you know nothing about wrestling.

[@dillonmackay683]

@@ecs3821just gotta get back to the folk style mindset, he’s been wrestling free for the past 8 months

[@michaelmiller4777]

Maybe Fix can’t finally get 1

[@noBearAdventures]

@@ecs3821 Someone like Vito doesn’t mind taking losses like this. For Crookham, this match is an Olympic final. For Vito, it’s practice. Not taking anything from Crookham. He absolutely outwrestled Vito. But that is the difference. I can assure you… if these 2 meet in March, it will not go the way this did. And if you think it will… then you don’t know anything about wrestling. Not trying to be rude. Just being truthful. Context, ability, what they’ve been doing for the last 6 months (at what level), and taking it to another level at the most elite of tournaments when it counts are very different things

[@MNaeem5]

Looking forward to the rematch,that was great defense from Crookham!

[@stevenhaff7973]

This is only going to make the wrestling year more interesting. Congratulations to Crookham.

[@frankiecal3186]

This guy just beat an NCAA Champion and a World Freestyle Champion. This guy's a beast.

[@JamesWARNER-g5l]

yeah to 133 lb kids LMAO - I can literally pick him up with one arm - 133 is twig status.

[@trapruga]

@@JamesWARNER-g5lshordy u a nobody also he would dog u 😂😂😂

[@brennervogan1949]

@@JamesWARNER-g5lboth those 133s would absolutely smack you around ☠️

[@jwwater329]

Keep telling yourself that bud

[@JamesWARNER-g5l]

@@jwwater329 What that I could toss them around? - No telling, its facts - havnt weighted 133 since 9th grade

[@rossdepina1881]

Wow! This season is about to be amazing.

[@GuyFromSC]

This is not “No news” but we all know these top guys like Vito and Ramos, will be at their peak come NCAAs. Shout out to Crookman to beat a Senior level World Champion that dominated the bracket. Ryan looks incredibly strong and I believe these top seeds are overlooking this newer guys. Freestyle has always been Vito’s true love and like last year, it takes him time to get back in the folkstyle groove. There’s a huge difference in the two and perhaps we all jumped the gun saying 125 was a “weak weight” and by already penciling in Fix and Vito into the finals. I still think Ramos and Vito win it all and it’s because of losses like this that help refocus and tighten up. In Flos pod last week with David Taylor, DT mentioned how these HS kids are freshman are coming in with a different mindset due to how much competition and high level training their getting at young age. Blaze and Camacho believed they’d beat Ramos and obviously Ryan believed he could beat Vito. You don’t win matches if you expect to lose. That mentality shift is HUGE and a clear function of how good these HS and club coaches are these day. Shout out to Ryan for knocking of #1 and teammate #6. God I love this sport. 🙏🏼

[@Shane-ce9fm]

Why are you bringing up the 125lbs weight class?

[@GuyFromSC]

@@Shane-ce9fm Because there was arguably a bigger upset at 125 last weed. And more top seed upsets at 125 this season. The underlying theme of this video is “Another Top Seed Upset”. And after shouting out Crookman several times for a big win, I thought it was important to include 125 and point out this trend in other weights. I mentioned David Taylor talking about “freshman and HS guys coming in with more of a winning mindset”. Again this is evident in both 125 and 133. I also mentioned that “both Vito & Ramos will peak come NCAA’s.” If you’re not familiar, both of these wrestlers were top seeds, both were upset last week, and both compete at 133 and 125. Bottom line, this theme of early season upsets isn’t exclusive to this match, or the 133 weight class, It’s at multiple weights, especially at 125 this season. Which in my opinion, shouldn’t be overlooked. If you don’t agree and think that I should only comment on 133, in wrestling match vid of 133, that’s cool man! 15 others have liked it and given it a 👍🏼. 🤷🏻‍♂️ Maybe you’re missing the bigger picture? I don’t know and am not one to speculate. I’m happy to further explain anything you may have potentially overlooked. Just let me know. And we can still disagree and have differing opinions while respecting each other. I’m even game for a friendly and respectful debate if you think I was wrong to bring in another weight class to prove my point and confirm this trend. Just let me know. 🙏🏼

[@Shane-ce9fm]

@@GuyFromSC Thank you for the thorough reply. I was unaware of the upsets at 125lbs. My brother and I were just talking about how great these young are nowadays. They are so much more advanced than when we wrestled in high school and college in the late 90s.

[@GuyFromSC]

@@Shane-ce9fm It’s incredible right? I was a 3xer back in my days. I wasn’t good wrestle enough in college but I was descent only losing 4x in 1998-2001. One was to old UFC guy Josh Koshchek. But yeah man these kids would drag me all over the mat these days. Remember how rare it used to be to see any match on TV? You had to have someone’s rich dad let you borrow their VHS from like one dual. So there was no real scouting of opponents. I went to JRob camp in 2000 and that helped. But these kids are exposed to so much technique online. Better coaches. Year-round Club coaches and matches. They’re leaps and bounds from where we were in at that age. But I still think it’s a lot about the mindset and winning belief. These kids think they’re best and I wish I had that mindset when I was there age. 🙏🏼

[@Mdo-08]

⁠​⁠@@GuyFromSCMy dad was Josh Koschecks teammate back in the day, Waynesburg Pa. Always tells me stories of how much of a stud he was and how he just destroyed everybody he wrestled.

[@migueltor6434]

Upsets like this are very rare, good job.

[@b.s.c.l2959]

That first period walk back from Vito was way to casual. Gave off a "I got this, no worries" feel. I think the other kid took that personal like "really, u not going to hustle back? you to good huh"...Vito took his time. That take down in the third u could tell the look on Vito's face was like "oh shyt" but it was to late

[@PrevailMMAcoach]

Throwing the leg in at the end of the first period and chasing the cradle rather than the single in the 2nd period is what cost Vito that match. He did not expect that defense from Crookham in the 3rd to seal it

[@robertreed6222]

Gotta love the good wrestling matches so far this year!

[@joeyfung-i]

Pa wrestling shining though! Crookham put on clinics in HS. Pennsylvania will forever have the best scholastic wrestling. Vito is great and no doubt he’s on that final mat this year but Crookham did us proud yesterday!

[@galehess6676]

He followed Kolat's path.. not too shabby lol That was some nice HS wrestling, too, back in the historic Hershey Arena.

[@scottmallett1306]

You can't downplay beating a world and NCAA champion no matter what people want to say in these comments. Its very hard in wrestling to get lucky and beat someone of that caliber. You can get lucky and catch them and pin them, but that doesn't necessarily transfer into the next time they meet. What Ryan did in this match was over 7 minutes of wrestling and to be quite frank, Vito never challenged. Sure, Vito could have been sick or been really off for some other reason, but he wouldn't ever say that.

[@BreakdancingMiracle]

Woahhhhhhh Vito is by far my favorite and I really don’t know he rose to the occasion. But this was absolutely amazing!!!!!!!

[@RazorsEdgeWrestling]

Crookam’s mental fortitude is unparalleled!!!

[@BasicGestalt]

so many wrestlers are so elite now

[@MarkSmithhhh]

Damn this guy's an animal, I've seen results but never really watched him...he's a stud

[@x-Musashi-x]

Damn wrestlers strong, powerful, explosive AND flexible. The normal human being would have injuries left and right with all those awkward positions and angles.

[@dangerpowers4582]

I swear, since Spencer Lee got pinned, there's been an enormous amount of upsets. Honestly, the moment Gomez beat Diakomihalis, I realized that no one was completely safe.

[@steinervision7643]

Can’t win em all! Vito is a beast !!

[@hey12358y]

Got to pay the rent every day on the mat, nobody gets by for free. Beating a Senior World Champ is a tremendous accomplishment. Going to propel this kid from Lehigh to high places. Glad to see this college season is going to be up to the task of sharpening Vito into a Gold Medal contender for 2024.

[@alainp1020]

I'm new to wrestling so this is a genuine question. At 9:38 Arujau initiates the takedown, misses the shot and ends up on his knees. How is that a three-point takedown for Crookham? Is it because he took the back as to why they reward him takedown?

[@Blkcoco]

Yes it’s because he spun behind😭

[@ultimaterankings1154]

The defense on takedowns has improved a lot over the last 50 years.

[@arcstatic8950]

Another stud on the college scene that could shake things up!! Great match!

[@imru3533]

I think this will be a huge wake-up for Vito. Kudos to Crookham and a great match!

[@Memnarch]

Great job Ryan! Vito knows where the gauntlet is laid now.

[@MateoEM862]

That spin around him sealed it! Good job crookham

[@mikesnitro]

Just.....DAMN! Arujau is great and was very active. Kudos to the kid for good counter-wrestling. He withstood many attacks.

[@JustinSchomer]

About all he did

[@michaeljames4030]

BIG win!! Will be interesting to see how the Leigh roster unfolds considering his teammate is ranked 6th at this weight

[@stevedamron5072]

Broke his ass love that comment great match buddy keep it up we are congrats on the win

[@adamfowler350]

Man you just never know with this sport, i swear. It is surprisingly unpredictable in so many matches, no matter how good or dominant someone is.

[@dirtworshiper2800]

That’s why I love this sport. You never know.

[@galehess6676]

Vito was pretty relaxed, maybe always is, but... His mind is on his goals. Probably the motivation he needed lol

[@Jz86az]

Vito looked like he didn’t care much…Maybe he hit the mountain top with the world title… But this should lite a fire under both wrestlers…

[@AntonioLopez-kw3ev]

Might be going easy on them

[@JustinSchomer]

Crooks very well rehearsed in stalling tho.!!!

[@FrankFondue]

First ramos now this

[@SuperSpooniegee]

crookham showed some amazing things against pure world class

[@charlesbromberick4247]

Impressive - both of them!

[@alancrookston5906]

Folk vs free style, different animal. No push out point awards or back exposure… it is definitely harder to score at folk. Good match.

[@WS3RD]

Crookham was great defensively!

[@JustinSchomer]

Yet no stalling ever called on Cooked… NICE Referring.!!

[@thetrevonfamily4978]

Bro we gettin upsets this week wthhhh😬

[@CFP50]

Is was literally right behind the camera for this one I was freaking out

[@traviscoleman9520]

That may have been some of the oddest hand fighting I’ve ever seen.

[@syntax6619]

I feel so bad for this kid because Vito’s gonna kick his ASS later in the season😭😭

[@JustinSchomer]

Haha dido to that

[@JustinSchomer]

This will be crooks biggest victory of Life time.! Hands down

[@rng_x3william178]

y’all forgetting how yianni lost last year at this time too and still won, this wasn’t a blowout match, I still have Vito winning this NCAA season

[@JustinSchomer]

As do and many points unaccounted for Vman in this match.. if Vito wouldn’t have pushed the match aka wrestled woulda been boring ass match

[@DA-bp8lf]

This should’ve been a blow out victory for Vito. Why wasn’t it?? Because this kid has amazing STRENGTH!!! Shut down all of those points Vito would’ve easily gotten with a weaker opponent. Look out for this kid!! My advice to Vito. Get in the weight room!!

[@fredarroyo7429]

Vito got the early season slump he always gets into

[@DA-bp8lf]

@@fredarroyo7429 Right! I don’t see him losing to this kid at Nationals! 👍

[@JustinSchomer]

I do agree on this comment.!

[@JustinSchomer]

@@DA-bp8lf Most legit comment of the post.!!!

[@aarontenor]

He’s a sophomore according to the Lehigh Wrestling website. And he’s no joke. He won three state titles in PA and his high school record was 116-3 with 51 falls. 😮

[@blueboy5699]

Amazing!

[@jaxchristian6408]

Wow amazing.

[@dangerpowers4582]

The Lehigh valley is the best place in the world for wrestling. There are some great places for wrestling, but that area is a stud-factory.

[@Kenneth-tz4sx]

I bet every psu fan liked seeing that. Especially since he's homegrown.

[@JustinSchomer]

Some home town referring too

[@mrczz6690]

Kids moves very quickly. Watch him take off his ankle bands, headgear, handshake at the end..his mind is flying

[@JustinSchomer]

Pry has lil summin summin for his boost

[@unclelarry9138]

Two good wrestlers. They will see each other again. We'll see what happens in the future.

[@JustinSchomer]

We know what will happen lmao

[@Slapthematwrestling]

Missed the danger count in favor of Vito in the third period official. Started counting after Crookham had back exposed for two seconds already. Hats off to Crookham, he had a good plan.. ,continue to back up and circle making Vito chase and lunge (which is why he got warned for stalling in the first). Vito should been a little more patient with 49 seconds left with that last shot selection. Crookham really only got in on Vito once in the first and Vito shut it down. Not worried the least bit for Vito after watching this match. I can see Vito winning by 3 in the dual, 5 at EIWAs and major at NCAAs . The way in which Crookham won is not a way in which he will be able to repeat. Vito simply had to clean up some scrambling, mainly tossing his leg over the back and tossing it in far side. Up until this point he has been able to do that to guys but Crookham and company did their homework.

[@scottmallett1306]

Time stamp the part where Vito should have gotten "danger" points.

[@yngcarp7265]

PA kids man, absolute dawgs

[@MrSilus2000]

Looks like this was this kids Super Bowl. What was on the line for this tournament?

[@rycheek]

Holy sh*tttt!!! I had Vito as the best wrestler in the country, any weight. That's wild!!

[@muzzyjk]

the guy was a good counter. doesnt mean ryan crookham will win ncaa

[@JustinSchomer]

STILL IS

[@differentperspective5876]

When your superior you're the hog.....🐗 Wrestling is a display of pure strength, grit and willpower....👂🏻👂🏼👂🏽👂🏾👂🏿

[@kidjiujitsu]

He deserved that loss. Next time stop playing around like the kids a scrub. Learned a valuable lesson here today.

[@tomluntz1826]

I agree. Vito was just trying tricks to catch him off guard and was careless on the last takedown attempt that was countered to clinch the match.

[@AntonioLopez-kw3ev]

@@tomluntz1826yup you can see Vito wasn’t trying looking like he was just practicing and not trying to win

[@legacygains5742]

Bruh how this is crazy

[@iFunky0]

Because its a freshman bro what

[@kevinkline7242]

Don't look now but Ryan Crookham will become the best wrestler in Lehigh history.

[@RICHBYBLOOD]

Damn good Scrabbles

[@chunkbutfunky]

I get it🎉🎉. Let’s see if that’s the same outcome later in the season if they meet

[@JustinSchomer]

When it matters right.!! 👍🏻

[@stevebagley433]

shocked he took Vito down twice. Great win, kid is super legit...although Vito will be ready and handle him in a rematch.

[@frankiecal3186]

Upset of the year as shocking as seeing Ramos pin Lee.

[@AWCTB]

Just a reminder Yianni lost his first match last year 9-3 and he finished with the national title.

[@eduardogutierrez9487]

Like John smith said it’s harder the 2nd time

[@Lorre4]

Vito just came off free style he'll be fine

[@reknirbecurb]

3 points for takedown doesn’t even make sense. Especially with stalling being so subjective. They need to add 1 point for push out.

[@BarefootMediaTV]

Vito got an early loss last season too. NCAA will be exciting!

[@aksandcoffee42069]

lmao dude in the back 'broke his ass' at 10:05

[@JustinSchomer]

Crook didn’t attempt a takedown, sat and waited

[@nickchoporis5901]

When did a takedown go from 2 points to 3 points ? ?

[@Tyler_forte]

These kids are nuts bro, this is the kid that beat Stevo Poulin 2-1 a handful of years ago.. wow

[@bornhopeless]

Any givin Sunday!

[@bowrudder899]

Ryan F'in Crookham?!

[@averyrabb3203]

OKAY I SEE YOU!!!!!

[@jay_fresh]

Crookham did in fact get hit for stalling in the 1st period

[@triplec6011]

When we thought Vito was invincible...

[@Basichomelife]

Early in season with this new 3 point take down. He's a beast

[@frankiecal3186]

Next shocker Burroughs gets pinned by middle school kid.

[@SameOlHim]

Both singlets are fire. Damn! ♥️🤍🔥

[@iceman2515]

Vito did not look himself. He was a bit sluggish and he also looked overly relaxed. Peak performance will happen at higher levels of alertness. Hopefully this loss will get his head back in the game.

[@JustinSchomer]

I agree, rematch I say… no stalling, no back points awarded was pretty clear.. game plan to Crook but my moneys still on V man when it comes to big time do or die… crook no chance in a rematch.!

[@RAT_Z1]

hell yeah

[@pyrex-matt5685]

As a middle school wrestler who has wrestled since 2nd grade I have never understood why riding time matters I am so confused can someone explain why the riding time is timed

[@tigerblood203]

One minute of riding times gives you a point in college.

[@Footballislife1900]

Let’s go Lehigh I live right sooooo close