Friday, August 10, 2018

The Top 5 NCAA DIVISION I 149 lbs Wrestlers in the 21st Century to not All American



This is a topic that has been talked to death.  Yet, it's usually discussed from an overall standpoint. I don't know if it's ever been discussed weight by weight.  So as a result, I'm going to do that.  I took a look at all 10 weight classes in Division I and I put together who I thought the top five best wrestlers at each weight class were that never made All American status during their career.

I realize that most likely I'm going to get a lot of feedback about the guys I overlooked or the guys I forgot. Trust me, I most likely already know.  It was very difficult narrowing it down to five guys per weight. 

I write this because I feel that we as a whole, we as a wrestling community tend to put too much emphasis on the NCAA tournament alone.  There have been wrestlers in our past and their will be wrestlers in our future who achieve an assortment of credentials, but fall short of All American status.  I personally feel that these wrestlers should still be celebrated.  Still be remembered.  And this is my way of doing it.

Here are who I consider to be the top Five at 149 lbs.

#5
Karl Nadolsky
Michigan State
With wins over Travis Shufelt of Nebraska, Ty Eustice of Iowa. Mike Zadick of Iowa, and Adam Tirapelle of Illinois, Michigan State's Karl Nadolsky comes in at fifth.  Nadolsky finished one match shy of All American status in 2003 as a senior.

#4
Mitch Mueller
Iowa State
Coming in at #4 on my list is Iowa State's Mitch Mueller.  Along with being a three time BIG 12 runner up, Mueller was also a three time Midland's place winner.  Receiving the #7 seed at the 2010 NCAA's as a senior, he finished one match shy of All American status his final two years as a Cyclone.  Notable victories include Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State, Don Fisch of Rider, Kyle Borschoff of American, and Jason Chamberlain of Boise State.

#3
Marc Hoffer
American
When fans think of American Wrestling and who was the first wrestler to bring attention to the program, a name that gets overlooked far more than it should is Marc Hoffer.  Even though Hoffer never made All American status he was a first of many for the Eagle program.  A two time CAA conference champion, Hoffer was the first American University wrestler to ever be ranked.  He was the first American University wrestler to ever get an invitation to the NWCA All Star classic.  125 career wins, Hoffer finished one match shy of an NCAA medal at both the 1999 and the 2002 NCAA tournaments.

#2
Cole Von Ohlen
Air Force
Not only did you expect Cole Von Ohlen to be an All American during his career, he made you think from the get go that being a four time All American was a very realistic possibility.  Records of 31-9 as a freshman, 44-9 as a sophomore, 32-4 as a junior and 27-4 as a senior gave testimony to the belief.  A four time conference finalist, winning two titles, Von Ohlen made the finals of CKLV (twice), Reno and the Southern Scuffle.  The #9 seed as a sophomore, the #3 seed as a junior and the #4 seed as a senior,  Von Ohlen finished one win away from All American status his final two years as a Falcon.


#1
Jake Sueflohn
Nebraska
Not only does Jake Sueflohn come in at #1 at 149 lbs, he could easily make a case as the best wrestler period, to never achieve All American Status.  A Reno champion, 3rd-3rd-2nd at CKLV and a 3rd place finish at the Midland's championships.  Two BIG 10 runner-up finishes.  He received a seed at the NCAA's every year coming in at #10, #9, #6 and #7.  After sitting out in 2015 due to a torn ACL, Sueflohn came back in 2016 looking as tough as ever.  Even though his BIG 10 performance of 5th wasn't where he wanted it to be, he came into the NCAA's on fire majoring Kent State's Mike DePalma 10-1.  Somehow or another while DePalma worked his way back to an All American finish, Sueflohn would lose two close heartbreaker's in a row to finish one match shy of a medal for himself.   Alex Kocer of South Dakota State, Eric Grajales of Michigan, Andrew Alton of Penn State, and B.J. Clagon of Rider are a few of the many names that Sueflohn defeated during his time as a Cornhusker.




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