There haven't been many posts recently on the board, so thought I'd give a breakdown on what will likely be the top teams at NCAAs and how their wrestlers might place (sorry, I'm not as much into the Big 10 tourney so am skipping much commentary on that). Much of what I write will be common knowledge to those who follow college wrestling closely, but I'm sure there are some who will appreciate reading this...and I look forward to different opinions. This is a long post, but it's getting me excited about going to Oklahoma City!
125 - Clark wrestled 3 of the last 4 duals, so I suspect he'll get the nod over Gilman, who had a very good season. I think either one would place about the same at nationals. Because of Clark's limited action this season (due to weight issues?), the Big 10s should prepare him well for NCAAs. His biggest hurdles will be Megaludis (PSU), Garrett (Cornell) and Delgado (ILL) - also look out for Patterson (OK) and Peters (UNI). Look for Clark to place in top 4.
133 - Ramos is on a mission this year, but has shown some vulnerability. Regardless, I have a lot of confidence in him and expect him to win it all. His primary competition will come from Colon (UNI), Schopp (Edinboro) and I think the defense of Graff (WIS) will keep him in the match late.
141 - I think most people have been pleased with how Dziewa has performed this year, though he lost the last two duals. He's had trouble with consistentcy, but hopefully he'll do well at Big 10s and get some quality wins at NCAAs. If he gets on a roll, he could definitely AA, but at least he should score some important points for the team.
149 - As with Dziewa, Grothus has been a nice surprise with plenty of quality wins. He's more consistent than Dziewa, and since this weight class isn't strong this year I can see Grothus getting AA, or at least scoring a lot of team points. There are about 9 guys who can challenge for a spot in the finals.
157 - People might be surprised that St. John has lost 3 times, but he'll be fine as long as he continues to pull out the close matches. When you wrestle like he does you're bound to lose a few close ones at the end. His toughest matches will be against Green (Neb), Dieringer (Ok St), and Ness (MN).
165 - I'm very happy with Moore - feel he's stepped up a level this year. He'll be in the mix along with Caldwell (OK), Monk (S. Dakota) and Sulzer (VA) to lose to Taylor in the finals, so hope he gets on the lower side of the bracket. He's proven that he can beat anyone but Taylor.
174 - I've never been as big on Evans as many Hawk fans, especially since he seems to always lose close matches to top guys (though finally beat Storley this year). He'll get AA again, but don't see him getting to finals - that's for Howe and Perry. Kokesh (Neb), Brown (PSU), Storley (MN) and maybe Wilps (Pitt) will battle Evans for AA.
184 - Lofthouse reminds me too much of Morningstar - just seems to do the minimum needed to score more points than his opponent, rather than be offensive-minded and dominate. I really like our future with Brooks. Lofthouse has only lost to the top 2 guys, and he has the ability to be in the finals against Ruth.
197 - I was hoping that we'd see significant improvement this year with Burak but that hasn't happened. I don't see him breaking through for AA, but hopefully will score some valuable team points.
285 - Ah yes, the boring big guys. Normally I'll watch any wrestling match, even little kids, but heavyweights put me to sleep! It appears that Telford has recovered nicely from his torn knee last year, but unfortunately he's fallen into the boring style of heavys (2-1 and 3-2 scores). Still, he has enough athleticism to place very high - can't rule out finals for him.
125 - Clark, 5th
133 - Ramos, 1st
141 - Dziewa, 7th
149 - Grothus, 7th
157 - St. John, 3rd
165 - Moore, 3rd
174 - Evans, 5th
184 - Lofthouse, 5th
197 - Burak, NP
285 - Telford, 3rd
* Note that each place is an "odd" number, meaning that they win their last match in the tourney, something that every coach hopes to see.
I'm an optimist who always see the glass half full and envisions what can be, so if my predictions are good, then 9 AAs should win the title, even with PSU's bonus points. Can't wait to watch it all unfold during 2 days of the most exciting wrestling you'll ever want to see!!
125 - Clark wrestled 3 of the last 4 duals, so I suspect he'll get the nod over Gilman, who had a very good season. I think either one would place about the same at nationals. Because of Clark's limited action this season (due to weight issues?), the Big 10s should prepare him well for NCAAs. His biggest hurdles will be Megaludis (PSU), Garrett (Cornell) and Delgado (ILL) - also look out for Patterson (OK) and Peters (UNI). Look for Clark to place in top 4.
133 - Ramos is on a mission this year, but has shown some vulnerability. Regardless, I have a lot of confidence in him and expect him to win it all. His primary competition will come from Colon (UNI), Schopp (Edinboro) and I think the defense of Graff (WIS) will keep him in the match late.
141 - I think most people have been pleased with how Dziewa has performed this year, though he lost the last two duals. He's had trouble with consistentcy, but hopefully he'll do well at Big 10s and get some quality wins at NCAAs. If he gets on a roll, he could definitely AA, but at least he should score some important points for the team.
149 - As with Dziewa, Grothus has been a nice surprise with plenty of quality wins. He's more consistent than Dziewa, and since this weight class isn't strong this year I can see Grothus getting AA, or at least scoring a lot of team points. There are about 9 guys who can challenge for a spot in the finals.
157 - People might be surprised that St. John has lost 3 times, but he'll be fine as long as he continues to pull out the close matches. When you wrestle like he does you're bound to lose a few close ones at the end. His toughest matches will be against Green (Neb), Dieringer (Ok St), and Ness (MN).
165 - I'm very happy with Moore - feel he's stepped up a level this year. He'll be in the mix along with Caldwell (OK), Monk (S. Dakota) and Sulzer (VA) to lose to Taylor in the finals, so hope he gets on the lower side of the bracket. He's proven that he can beat anyone but Taylor.
174 - I've never been as big on Evans as many Hawk fans, especially since he seems to always lose close matches to top guys (though finally beat Storley this year). He'll get AA again, but don't see him getting to finals - that's for Howe and Perry. Kokesh (Neb), Brown (PSU), Storley (MN) and maybe Wilps (Pitt) will battle Evans for AA.
184 - Lofthouse reminds me too much of Morningstar - just seems to do the minimum needed to score more points than his opponent, rather than be offensive-minded and dominate. I really like our future with Brooks. Lofthouse has only lost to the top 2 guys, and he has the ability to be in the finals against Ruth.
197 - I was hoping that we'd see significant improvement this year with Burak but that hasn't happened. I don't see him breaking through for AA, but hopefully will score some valuable team points.
285 - Ah yes, the boring big guys. Normally I'll watch any wrestling match, even little kids, but heavyweights put me to sleep! It appears that Telford has recovered nicely from his torn knee last year, but unfortunately he's fallen into the boring style of heavys (2-1 and 3-2 scores). Still, he has enough athleticism to place very high - can't rule out finals for him.
125 - Clark, 5th
133 - Ramos, 1st
141 - Dziewa, 7th
149 - Grothus, 7th
157 - St. John, 3rd
165 - Moore, 3rd
174 - Evans, 5th
184 - Lofthouse, 5th
197 - Burak, NP
285 - Telford, 3rd
* Note that each place is an "odd" number, meaning that they win their last match in the tourney, something that every coach hopes to see.
I'm an optimist who always see the glass half full and envisions what can be, so if my predictions are good, then 9 AAs should win the title, even with PSU's bonus points. Can't wait to watch it all unfold during 2 days of the most exciting wrestling you'll ever want to see!!
