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| HAYDEN HIDLAY Junior NORTH CAROLINA STATE |
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| RYAN DEAKIN Junior NORTHWESTERN |
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| KALEB YOUNG Junior IOWA |
I also want to mention Jaren Glosser, who because of the depth of the Hawkeye lineup looks to end his career as one of the best wrestlers in the nation to never wrestle in a conference tournament. Fourth at last year's Midlands, Glosser has two wins over Eric Barone of Illinois, two wins over BIG 12 champion Chase Straw of Iowa State and a victory over Lucas Weiland of Army. It messes with ones mind to know a guy that spent four years as a backup at Iowa, could have won multiple conference titles wrestling at another school in another conference.
He had some decent wins among his 13 victories during his redshirt last season. Nothing that sticks out to me that he's going to be a world beater but enough that suggest he'll qualify for this year's NCAA championships.
The EIWA at 157 is absolutely loaded and the thing about it is, they're almost all sophomores. As long as no one goes up or down, this could prove to be (along with 125 lbs in my opinion) the most exciting weight class in collegiate wrestling's oldest tournament for the next three years. Among them is the 149 lbs champion from last year Anthony Artalona of Pennsylvania. It'll be fun seeing him go head to head with Josh Humphrey's of Lehigh, who won the 157 lbs title last season.
Leading the way in what could easily prove to be the EIWA's toughest weight class is last year's 157 lbs champ Josh Humphreys of Lehigh. An NCAA round of twelve wrestler in 2019, he will contend for All American honors in 2020.
I'm anxious to see how life in the MAC treats many of the former EWL wrestlers this season. I'm anxious to see who holds their own and who doesn't. I believe Dellavecchia will be the prior. I think he'll compete with the likes of Larry Early of Old Dominion and Jarrett Jacques of Missouri.
Splitting time between 149 and 157 last season, Teemer indicated through various wins that he'll be more than a suitable replacement for the now graduated Christian Pagdilao. Teemer defeated Maryland's Baby J Bannister 9-5, Fresno State's Khristian Olivas 4-2, Minnesota's Brayton Lee 9-7 and most notably Ohio State's Sammy Sasso 8-6. Do I see a national title in Teemer's future as a freshman? No, I don't. I do think though that by year's end he could be the PAC-12 champion and contend for All American honors. Not as hyped and celebrated as other freshman we'll see this season, he'll out do some of them.
There's also a Justin McKoy on the Cavalier basketball team. I'm probably the only person in the world who finds that to be an interesting fact. With that said I feel about McCoy the same way I feel about Mattox. Nothing out of this world predicted for his freshman season, but the start of what I feel will be no less than a four time NCAA qualifier by the time his career is said and done.
If I had to make a guess as to who starts at 157 lbs for the Nittany lions this season, I'd have to go with Brady Berge. That doesn't mean that I don't think it might also be Bo Pipher because I do. I think either one of them will do great for Penn State. Berge showed what he's capable of with a third place finish at the Southern Scuffle at 149 lbs and an NCAA qualification. Pipher took runner-up honors at the Scuffle himself, also beating BIG 12 champ Chase Straw of Iowa State 5-3 and NCAA qualifier Dan Reed of Columbia via technical fall.
What to make of a guy like Larry Early. At times he looks capable of doing damn near anything. The only returning wrestler who handed Hidlay a loss last season. And it's not like Hidlay was the only win worth mentioning either. Early defeated Quincy Monday of Princeton and Zach Hartman of Bucknell among others in route to his eighth place finish at nationals. Yet you also have to look at a 4-0 loss to Logan Parks of Central Michigan and an 8-4 loss to B.C. LaPrade of Virginia Tech. Less of those and more of wins like the one he had on Hidlay, if he wants to be taken seriously as a threat to the national title.
The Carr family tradition at Iowa State continues and this time it is with five time state champion David. Going 23-1 last season in his redshirt, Carr had wins over Northern Iowa's Paden Moore, Iowa's Jaren Glosser and Minnesota's Brayton Lee. Dare I say that he'll make a run at the BIG 12 title this season? Dare I say indeed.
I think it is so friggin cool that Princeton wrestling is looking as good as they are. I'm thinking something along the lines of "Brains, Gains and Pains" or something else catchy. Show the world that some of the smartest kids, earning one of the most prestigious degrees in the world, can also be superb athletes. Put to rest the antiquated and foolish idea that jocks can't have brains. The better a school like Princeton does and the more publicity it gets, the more that foolish idea dies the death it deserves. Among the notable tiger roster is sophomore Quincy Monday who took third at last year's EIWA championships. He'll be one of many in the weight class with an eligible shot at winning this year's title.
The highlight on the Bison team last year, Zach Hartman adds let another name to the long list of potential EIWA champions this season. Taking third at last year's Midlands and runner-up honors at the EIWA tournament, Hartman had nine falls last season. A nasty cradle that I'm sure he'll pull off more than once this season.
Among the seniors who have yet to earn All American honors, I would rank Taleb Rahmani somewhere near the top. A two time CKLV place-winner thus far going 7th & 5th, he should have his best showing yet. In the ACC he has finished runner-up twice. He'd have to defeat Hidlay in order to finally win the crown, which may be out of his league. Earning All American honors though, is not.
And yet another tough competitor that adds depth to the EIWA at 157 lbs. I don't see Weiland winning the EIWA title, but I could see him pulling off an upset or two. He finished fourth at last year's championships as well as one match shy of a medal at the Midlands.
I'd put Hayes right up there with Rahmani in the list of best seniors yet to AA. To be honest I was a little shocked when Hayes finished seventh at last year's BIG 10 championships. As he proved the year before with a third place finish, he's much better than that. A two time CKLV place-winner finishing third and fourth, I think he could win this year's tournament. He hasn't wrestled nearly as well as I thought he would thus far, but that doesn't mean anything. No reason why he can't now.
An 18-11 record last season, LaPrade had some highlights that included defeating Early, and placing third at the ACC championships.
A lot of young talent at this weight class as I mention yet another freshman with a likelihood of being in the very least a four time NCAA qualifier during his career. Last season as a redshirt he defeated Michigan State's Jake Tucker and Ohio's Zac Carson. Even more telling, he took teammate Alec Pantaleo, a three time All American into sudden victory.
A BIG 12 runner-up and round of twelve at the NCAA's, Thomas is definitely an All American candidate this season. Defeated Hartman 11-8, Rahmani 7-1 and Pagdilao 5-2.
A two time NCAA qualifier with two 25+ season wins, Zovistoski moves up to 157 lbs after wrestling at 149 last season.
Kropman is not only the most interesting case at 157 lbs, he's one of the most interesting cases in Division I wrestling period. I think a lot of wrestling fans would be shocked to learn that he only had a 10-10 record last season. Yet among those 10 wins, his most impressive was a 3-1 sudden victory over Kolodzik. He also took Artalona into sudden victory as well.
An overlooked wrestler who could contend for All American honors this season. Last year he majored Wyatt Sheets of Oklahoma State 10-1 and handled Rahmani in a 10-4 decision.
Central Michigan's Logan Parks adds depth to the BIG 12 conference. He finished third at last year's championships and had a controlling 4-0 victory over Early. He also placed seventh at the Midlands.
And yet another native Missourian showing what the Tigers can do with homegrown talent. Last year Jacques had a phenomenal freshman campaign that included winning his first of what could be many BIG 12 championships.
It seems in recent times Harvard wrestling has slipped. Perhaps the road back to the better days of Crimson wrestling lies in senior Hunter Ladnier. No guarantees here, but he did seem to own Penn State's Bo Pipher last season. Defeated him three times, 4-1, 4-0 and 8-1.
He's never one of the first names that pops into your head when you sit down to analyse the weight class, but by George when it gets down to it, he's always there. Seventh at CKLV & fifth at the Midlands, he can show up when it counts. Wins over Hayes, BIG 12 champ Jacques and All American Young stick out.
Boilermaker Griffin Parriott will be one of the first to tell you the difficulty in qualifying for the NCAA Division I tournament. While not the best BIG 10 tournament, Parriott did have a pretty good season last year. He finished second at CKLV and had wins over Rahmani, Hartman and Jacques. He was also the only person not named Jason Nolf to defeat NCAA runner-up Tyler Berger.
An NCAA qualifier last season with a 9-4 victory over BIG 12 champion Chase Straw of Iowa State, Ruffin looks to become head coach Jeremy Spates' first four time NCAA qualifier.
Another question of line-up is at Oklahoma State. Do the Cowboys go with Wyatt Sheets who defeated Rahmani 9-3 and EIWA champ Humphreys 7-5? Or do they go with 2018 NCAA qualifier Andrew Shomers who owns a 5-3 victory over BIG 12 runner up Thomas? Knowing Smith and how he usually operates I believe it'll Sheets.
At 28-11 with a win over BIG 12 champ Straw, I was a little surprised when Wright wasn't chosen as a wildcard. With that initial first varsity season out of the way, I think Wright qualifies this year.
With Paul Fox graduated, I think Mandarino officially settles into the 157 lbs starting position for the Cardinal with ease. Last year he was a match shy of placing at CKLV and he finished a very impressive third at the Southern Scuffle. He should contend with Teemer and Hunter Willits for a PAC-12 title this season.
A two time NCAA qualifier who placed fourth at Southern Scuffle last season, Carson looks to take the nod for the bobcats in his final season. Also throw it out there that I don't think it's likely, but Nick Vestal who finished one match shy of a medal at the Scuffle could potentially take the spot as well.
One of three who will battle it out for a PAC-12 title this season, Willits was second in the PAC-12 last year and he placed eighth in Vegas.
Two twenty plus win seasons, Tucker has yet to qualify for the NCAA championships. I think now that the BIG 10 has graduated its top three stars (Nolf, Berger and Pantaleo) it opens up the door for Tucker to do so this year.
The EWL champ/two time NCAA qualifier Klucker returns for his final season, this time in the MAC conference. I don't see a title, but I do see a decent placing and a third qualification.
I kid you not, another case of "who will start?" This time at Cornell. I think the answer is Adam Santoro who had a decent 11-7 record including pinning Klucker has season. Yet, it's also plausible that Fredy Stroker finally puts it together and has himself the kind of season that he's always been capable of, yet has yet to do.
Barton won the Southern Conference title last season, although I can't quite make out like John Michael Montgomery quite yet. I'm not quite "sold" that he'll start for the Camels as we also have Austin Kraisser fighting for the spot.
157, a weight class that defines the toughness that is NCAA Division I wrestling. Named five wrestlers alone who are NCAA qualifier material who won't even make the varsity lineup this season.
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| JADEN MATTOX Freshman OHIO STATE |
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| ANTHONY ARTALONA Sophomore PENNSYLVANIA |
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| JOSH HUMPHREYS Sophomore LEHIGH |
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| JESSE DELLAVECCHIA Senior RIDER |
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| JACORI TEEMER Freshman ARIZONA STATE |
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| JUSTIN MCCOY Freshman VIRGINIA |
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| BRADY BERGE Sophomore PENN STATE |
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| LARRY EARLY Senior OLD DOMINION |
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| DAVID CARR Freshman IOWA STATE |
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| QUINCY MONDAY Sophomore PRINCETON |
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| ZACH HARTMAN Sophomore BUCKNELL |
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| TALEB RAHMANI Senior PITTSBURGH |
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| LUCAS WEILAND Senior ARMY |
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| KE-SHAWN HAYES Senior OHIO STATE |
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| B.C. LAPRADE Junior VIRGINIA TECH |
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| WILL LEWAN Freshman MICHIGAN |
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| JUSTIN THOMAS Junior OKLAHOMA |
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| MATT ZOVISTOSKI Senior APPALACHIAN STATE |
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| PARKER KROPMAN Senior DREXEL |
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| LUKE WEBER Junior NORTH DAKOTA STATE |
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| LOGAN PARKS Senior CENTRAL MICHIGAN |
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| JARRETT JACQUES Sophomore MISSOURI |
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| HUNTER LADNIER Senior HARVARD |
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| ERIC BARONE Junior ILLINOIS |
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| GRIFFIN PARRIOTT Junior PURDUE |
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| JUSTIN RUFFIN Sophomore SOUTHERN ILLINOIS EDWARDSVILLE |
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| WYATT SHEETS Sophomore OKLAHOMA STATE |
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| JACOB WRIGHT Sophomore FRESNO STATE |
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| DOM MANDARINO Junior STANFORD |
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| ZAC CARSON Senior OHIO |
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| HUNTER WILLITS Junior OREGON STATE |
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| JACOB TUCKER Junior MICHIGAN STATE |
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| ALEX KLUCKER Senior LOCK HAVEN |
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| ADAM SANTORO Junior CORNELL |
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| BENJAMIN BARTON Senior CAMPBELL |
157, a weight class that defines the toughness that is NCAA Division I wrestling. Named five wrestlers alone who are NCAA qualifier material who won't even make the varsity lineup this season.
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