A Midseason Look at the WWC

KEY:  $ - National Champion contender
         * - All American Contender
        & - Dark horse All American contender
       ^ -  NCAA Qualifier
      % - Dark horse NCAA qualifier

 

WWC

 

125

*Tyler Cox Senior Wyoming
*Josh Martinez Junior Air Force
^Josh Rodriguez Junior North Dakota State
^Jade Rauser Junior Utah Valley
^Tyler Andrews Freshman Northern Colorado

 

The Western Wrestling conference is pretty solid at 125 lbs with 5 highly probable NCAA qualifiers, two of which are All American candidates.   While Cox has had some head scratcher losses earlier this season, he has shown tremendous growth as the year as progressed.  His gas tank is his greatest weapon and he’s won more than one match this year with his superior conditioning.     He placed 8^th two years ago and I believe we’ll see him on the award stand again this year.      Martinez isn’t looking as tough as he has in the past and is currently only ranked 13^th in the Nation.    I do believe that by the time the conference tournament rolls around though, he will give Cox everything he has for a WWC title.     Shaping out for third place in the WWC will be Rodriguez, Rauser and Andrews, all of which have had some very solid and impressive wins this season, but none of which seem AA candidates.

133

^Drew Templeman sophomore Wyoming

133 lbs in the WWC is a rather weak weight and probably won’t have anyone beyond the champion qualifier for the NCAA’s.   As of right now Templeman looks to be that person.

 

 

141

^Cole Mendenhall sophomore Wyoming

Same feelings as 133.

149
^Jake Elliott sophomore Wyoming

Same feelings as 133 and 141

157
&Cody Pack Junior South Dakota State University

157 in the NCAA is an extremely tough weight class with a fair number of wrestlers that will be battling it out for a top eight finish at the end of the season.    One of the individuals that could sneak his way into the Round of Twelve and potentially win that match is the Jackrabbits Cody Pack.   Pack is looking to win his second WWC title this season.

165
^Dakotah Friesth Senior Wyoming
^Jesse Strafford Senior Air Force

Neither Friesth or Strafford are going to make a run for an All American award this season, but both should qualify for the NCAA’s and both are capable of winning a match or two.  

174
^Kurtis Julson junior North Dakota State
&Andy McCulley senior Wyoming

The Bison’s Julson is a solid wrestler with a record showing more wins than losses.  He won’t make much if any noise at the NCAA tournament, but he should give the Bison a qualifier at 174.  

McCulley is one of my favorites for the season and I’m anxious to see how his WWC and NCAA tournament will go.   After a fairly promising campaign as a sophomore,  McCulley had a very disappointing season last year, plagued with injuries.  He’s since moved up to 174 lbs and is having a pretty decent season.   His current record 19-6, with wins over guys that he should be beating and all but one of his losses, against guys who are for the most part All American candidates.   He’s not there yet, but he is extremely close.   Take away a 16-0 technical fall loss to NCAA champion contender Logan Storley of Minnesota, McCulley has kept himself in the match only losing by 1 to 3 points.    If he can figure out a way to get up and over the hump and turn these close losses into close wins, he could find himself an All American come year’s end.

184
^Ben Stroh sophomore Wyoming
* Hayden Zillmer Junior North Dakota State

Stroh is a solid wrestler and will give the Cowboys an NCAA qualifier.

Every year there are wrestlers who go above and beyond the limitations that I believe them capable and really impress me with their accomplishments.   The Bison’s Zillmer is one of those people for me this year.     He has had one impressive victory after another with two wins over Minnesota’s Bret Pfarr and most noted an 8-3 victory over #1 ranked Gabe Dean of Cornell.     184 is loaded with AA candidates, and Zillmer is most certainly one of them.

197
& Shane Woods senior Wyoming

Woods is one of those wrestlers that for the most part does exactly on the mat, what one would expect him to do on paper.   He beats who he should be and he loses to the guys ranked above him.  However, every once in a while he’ll win a match that he wasn’t supposed to win on paper and if he does that enough at the NCAA’s he could possibly sneak into the All American round.   I think his chances of winning that match are significantly less, but I do feel that making it that far is well within his means.

HWT
^Adam Fager junior Utah Valley
^ Evan Knutson senior North Dakota State

I’d like to put Knutson down as a darkhorse All American, but doing so would really be a stretch of the word.   Knutson is good and he has had and he will have some impressive victories throughout the remainder of this season, but I think that there are at least eight, if not more wrestlers in the HWT weight class that will prove to be better come year’s end.

Fager should be the Wolverine’s second wrestler to qualify for the NCAA’s.