2019 Southern Conference Thoughts

The 2018-2019 wrestling regular season is over. Let the post season begin! It's time to take a look at the Southern Conference and see who all from about as deep south as collegiate wrestling gets will be making a trip to the NCAA tournament.

125 lbs
I think our champion and sole qualifier at 125 lbs will be returning champion Alonzo Allen of Chattanooga. I can't see anyone challenging him, although I predict Campbell's Korbin Meink to meet him in the finals and for it to be a closer match than their recent 7-2 decision.  It's really a shame that Fabien Gutierrez is on the same team as Allen, as he too is NCAA qualifier material.

133 lbs 



Here's where this gets a tad bit complicated.  I see one of three possibilities here.  A, the NCAA has two allotments at 133 lbs for the SOCON, sending both Noah Gonser of Campbell and Codi Russell of Appalachian State to the NCAA's.  B, the NCAA only has one allotment, Gonser wins the SOCON championship and Russell stays home.  C, the NCAA only has one allotment, Russell wins the SOCON championship and Gonser is an at large selection.  Russell did defeat Gonser at the beginning of the season 6-3, but recently lost to him 4-1.  Gonser also has a more impressive record at 17-7 vs 15-9. Not to mention he was also the runner-up at this year's Midlands.  Very confident that he'll be the #1 seed.

141 lbs 




I can see the NCAA taking as many as three at 141 lbs from the SOCON. 2017 champion Chattanooga's Chris Debien will be the #1 seed with a 6-2 victory over Nathan Boston of Campbell and a 9-4 win over Irvin Enriquez of Appalachian State. Even though Enriquez was the SOCON champion last year, with his loss to Debien and being pinned by Boston in 1:36, he should enter the #3 seed, with Boston as the #2.


149 lbs 

I'm pretty confident that the selection committee will allot two spots for the SOCON at 149 lbs.  Campbell's Josh Heil will take the #1 seed over Appalachian State's Matt Zovistoski due to a recent 3-1 sudden victory.  Their finals match should prove to be one of the most exciting.  Both have similar records, Heil placed sixth at CKLV, while Zovistoski placed eighth at the Southern Scuffle. All of their matches have been close.

157 lbs 


There's a ton of parity at this weight, no one really stands out and I'm doing nothing more here than throwing a name in the wind. I'm not confident in anybody and I'm almost positive that the end result will look nothing like the seeds. However, if I had to make a guess at who wins the championship, I'm going to have to go with Mason Wallace of Chattanooga.  Do I think they'll start him over Resnick? Yeah, I do. Better record and better chance at a higher seed.  Whoever wins this weight will be the only 157 lbs wrestler to go to the NCAA's from the SOCON.

165 lbs

Runnin' Bulldog senior Tyler Marinelli looks to make history in route to becoming Gardner-Webb's first two time SOCON Champion.  Anything can happen in this crazy sport, but it's a fairly safe bet considering all of his in conference matches have ended in falls, technical falls or major decisions.


174 lbs 



If you want the most dangerous wrestler at 174 lbs in the NCAA, I'll give it to you.  The answer is VMI's Neal Richards. Wrestling for VMI in the Southern Conference, he'll go into the NCAA's quietly, either a low seed or unseeded. A recent 5-0 loss to Penn State's Mark Hall, where Hall had to earn each point.  VMI hasn't had an All American since Leslie Apedoe in 1999, nor have they had a conference champion since Josh Wine in 2011. The keydets are long overdue and Richards looks to provide.

With that said, it should be noted that Campbell's Andrew Morgan did defeat Richards earlier this season 5-2. However their most recent meeting ended in a 14-7 decision for Richards.  Both should be automatic qualifiers, seeing that they meet in the finals.

184 lbs

I see the NCAA allotting one spot at 184 lbs from the SOCON and it'll be an all out war to see who gets it between Chattanooga's Dominic Lampe and Appalachian State's Alan Clothier.  Clothier has the better record and the more impressive results. Clothier placed seventh at this year's Southern Scuffle compared to Lampe going 2-2.  Yet, when the two met it was Lampe who won, in a tight 3-2 contest. With the head to head victory, the #1 seed has to go to Lampe, but as to who wins the SOCON title here, it could go either way.


197 lbs 


Both Appalachian State's Randall Diabe who finished third at last years SOCON championships and Sawyer Root of The Citadel who finished second, were NCAA qualifiers in 2018.  Both have wrestled well enough to where the SOCON should be given two allotments at 197 lbs. Diabe will take the #1 seed to Root's #2, as he won a tight 3-2 matchup at the Southern Scuffle, and Appalachian State made a strategic move by not wrestling him in the dual verses The Citadel. Should prove to be another good finals match.

HWT

Undefeated in the conference and the best showing of any HWT in the SOCON, the title looks like it'll be going to Cary Miller of Appalachian State.



I hate saying this but I don't see Davidson even remotely challenging at any weight. They only have one wrestler with a winning record this season and that is Kyle Gorant at 133 lbs.  He has yet to wrestle Gonser this season, but he recently lost a 13-5 major decision to Russell. Only a freshman I can see him qualifying for the wildcats in the years to come, but he's not doing it this year.

The Citadel, Gardner Webb and VMI should all send one wrestler and there is a decent probability that all three end up winning SOCON titles.

I see Chattanooga and Campbell both sending four wrestlers to the NCAA's, with Appalachian State having the greatest probability of sending six.

The most I see coming out of the SOCON will be 17 but I think a more realistic number is 15.