125 - The forerunners for this year will be returning NCAA finalist Nahshon Garrett of Cornell and 4th place All American Joey Dance of Virginia Tech. However, there are quite a few other wrestlers at this weight class wanting to make a name for themselves as well. Ohio State fans have a lot of confidence in Nathan Tomasello who lost to Dance earlier this year in a close match. The Buckeye faithful believe the next time the two meet, which could very likely be in Vegas, Tomasello will win. Minnesota fans also have high expectations for the much improved Sam Brancale. Brancale put his name on the map last year with a fall over Iowa's Thomas Gilman and thus far this year has an impressive win over Wyoming All American Tyler Cox. CKLV provides an excellent opportunity for Brancale to add even more impressive wins to his resume. I personally can see Air Force's Joe Martinez being a surprise champion and wouldn't put it past David Terao of American to have a major upset or two as well. Northern Iowa's Dylan Peters will also be very tough.
133 - Johnni DiJulius shined at the CKLV tournament last year with a very impressive win over Northern Iowa's Joe Colon. I'll be anxious to see if he can repeat his dominant performance again this season. I feel that his weight class is fairly wide open with Minnesota's Chris Dardanes being the probable champion on paper. Look for Northern Iowa's Levi Wolfensperger, who has thus far been struggling this season, to perhaps turn the corner at this tournament.
141 - Rather loaded weight class with many ranked wrestlers entering the tournament. This will be a great opportunity for a few wrestlers to go up in the rankings and for a few wrestlers to go down as well. A God among men, Logan Stieber looks to go untouched in this tournament but will face either a tough Nick Dardanes of Minnesota or Devin Carter of Virginia Tech. Michigan's Stephen Dutton could make a surprise appearance in the finals.
149 - I've been on the Chris Villalonga bandwagon for quite some time now. I want to see him have a very rewarding and successful senior season this year. He might as well kick things off with a CKLV title.
157 - I'm a James Green fan, but I'm also the type of person that refuses to go against my gut instinct. My gut has been telling me for about the past several months that Green may win an NCAA title this year, but he will not do so undefeated. The number 0 will not be in his loss column this season. I can see one of many upsetting him along the way to the finals or in the finals, depending on where they are placed in the bracket. Dylan Ness of Minnesota has already proven he can beat him, but Nick Brascetta, Anthony Perrotti, Josh Demas and Brian Murphy are all capable as well.
165 - I am making a prediction that Indiana's Taylor Walsh sets himself apart at this tournament, pins his way to a Gorriaran award and signifies himself as a real threat at 165.
174 - Minnesota's Logan Storley seems to have made leaps and bounds in every department there is to make improvements in over the summer. He looks more technical, stronger, quicker, confident and in better shape than ever. He and Nebraska's Robert Kokesh have yet to meet this year, but they have had some common opponents. Kokesh has been beating them by 3-5 points and Storley has been tech-falling them. That doesn't always mean anything, but never the less I am very excited for these two to meet this year. The four (Storley, Kokesh, Iowa's Mike Evans and Penn State's Matt Brown) have set themselves apart from the rest of the pack at 174 lbs. However, amongst themselves they all seem very even, with no clear leader of the pack. Storley could prove that to be different at this tournament. Look for Iowa State's Tanner Weatherman to do very well.
184 - Taylor Meeks of Oregon State has not been doing as well this season down a weight class as I was hoping that he would. I'd like to see him go up at least 2 rankings and get into at least the #8 spot. He'll have to have a few upsets in order to make that happen. Michigan's Dominic Abounader hasn't made much of a scene yet this year, after having a fantastic run at the BIG 10 tournament last season. He's slated most likely to be seeded second, and might give Dean more of a match than he bargained for.
197 - I believe Iowa State's Kyven Gadson will win this tournament.
HWT - Look for Michigan's Adam Coon to win this tournament.
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