Edinboro - I thought at the beginning of the year if Edinboro wanted to win a team trophy this year and place in the top four at the NCAA tournament they would need everyone to wrestle to expectation and have some wrestle beyond it. Thus far this year, Kory Mines needs to step it up a notch. He's performed well in some matches, and poorly in others. He'll need to perform well at the NCAA's for Edinboro to bring home a trophy. As for a wrestler exceeding expectations Austin Matthews a transfer from Clarion at 157 has been doing just that. He is thus far undefeated, with a dominating 6-0 decision over NCAA qualifier Luke Smith of Central Michigan.
Wrench at 133? - We as wrestling fans like to make our picks early and come Hell or high water stick to them like glue. I wonder though if there is anyone that may end up throwing a wrench into the mix of things come seeding time. As of today, I can see that being one of three people. One of those people being Wisconsin's Jesse Thielke. Thielke was at 141 lbs last year, undersized and wrestling opponents much stronger than him. He was overpowered a lot on the mat. I don't see that happening at 133 lbs. On top of that Thielke is a phenomenal thrower. Someone doesn't do their homework and ends up trying to go upperbody with him, they'll end up on their back. I also look for Northern Iowa's Levi Wolfensperger and Chattanooga's Nick Soto throwing a few upsets in here and there to give the seeding committee headaches.
Will Logan Stieber go undefeated this season? - I do believe that Stieber will win his fourth NCAA title, but I can see him suffering a loss this season. Mitchell Port of Edinboro has the best chance to do just that. Next in line is Zane Retherford of Penn State and then after him the list of those who can possibly beat Stieber goes from a legitimate shot to a fantasy. Nevertheless I'll give Chris Dardanes of Minnesota and Richard Durso of Franklin and Marshall that small chance in Hell.
149 is a fun weight class! - Holy smokes this is a wide open weight class. Much more wide open than most fans initially realize. Everyone seems to be consistent about the already long list of Jason Tsirtis Northwestern, Drake Houdashelt of Missouri, Devin Carter of Virginia Tech, David Habat of Edinboro and Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State but the list goes on. Princeton's Adam Krop, Iowa's Brody Grothus, Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn, and Illinois's Caleb Ervin will be in the hunt too. If that's not enough Brandon Nelsen of Purdue, Mike Racciato of Pittsburg and Chris Castillo of Boise State are bound to shake things up as well. Tough, tough weight class.
James Green of Nebraska will not go undefeated this season - I'm no soothsayer. I cannot predict the future. Green might end his season with 0 in the loss column, but I have a feeling he'll lose at least once this season. Minnesota's Dylan Ness looks like the most likely candidate to hand Green a loss this season, but I wouldn't limit it to him. Virginia Tech's Nick Brascetta, Virginia's Gus Sako, and Ohio State's Josh Demas could as well. If Brian Realbuto is not redshirting, add him to the list as well.
Freshmen - Lot's of really good freshman this season. Oklahoma State's Chance Marsteller, Ohio State's Bo Jordan and Ohio State's Kyle Snyder seem to be hogging all of the spotlight though. Also keep an eye of Stanford's Connor Schram and Illinois's Isaiah Martinez.
Who will be Dieringer's Finals Opponent - Call me overconfident, but I just don't see anyone even remotely coming close to beating Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer. He's just too strong, too technical, too conditioned and too quick to be beaten. Who is taking the silver medal at the NCAA's this year though? I think the list of possible candidates may be longer than you think. Virginia's Nick Sulzer has thus far placed himself as the second best wrestler on paper. Ohio State fan's and those dreaming of the next Cael Sanderson, believe it'll be Bo Jordan. Iowa Fan's are hoping for a knockout performance out of Nick Moore. I'll also add Northern Iowa's Cooper Moore, Indiana's Taylor Walsh, Cornell's Dylan Palacio and my personal favorite Chattanooga's Corey Mock.
Don't over look me at 174! - I think 174 is a very solid weight class where wrestling fans know who's who. They are very well aware of the Big Four (Minnesota's Logan Storley, Nebraska's Robert Kokesh, Penn State's Matt Brown and Iowa's Mike Evans) and they're aware of Pittsburgh's Tyler Wilps and Bakersfield's Bryce Hammond. I'd advise though to keep Iowa State's Tanner Weatherman and even more of a darkhorse Cal Poly's Dom Kastl on the radar as well.
Oregon State's Taylor Meeks at 184 - I'm very anxious to see how wrestling at 184 will work out for Meeks. As of today it seems that his weight class is dominated by Gabe Dean of Cornell and Jack Dechow of Old Dominion that are heads and shoulders over the rest of the field. Perhaps it will remain this way, BUT if Meeks wrestles anything like he did two years ago at 197, I can most certainly see him being the one guy with a legitimate chance of challenging the two Gods at this weight class.
Who will win 197? - Missouri fans want to see another NCAA title out of J'Den Cox, but with Minnesota's Scott Schiller, Penn State's Morgan McIntosh and Iowa State's Kyven Gadson all wanting on top of the podium as well, it'll be hard to repeat. Ohio State's Kyle Snyder has already whipped Ohio's Phil Wellington this season, who handed Cox a loss last season. He'll be in the hunt as well. The real question here is how will Rutger's Andrew Campolattano do after being off the mats for a year?
HWT Darkhorses - Northwestern's Mike McMullan, North Carolina State's Nick Gwiazdowski, Michigan's Adam Coon and Iowa's Bobby Telford are the four being most talked about right now. I would add Wisconsin's Connor Medberry and Maryland's Spencer Myers to the list as well.
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