197 as it seems it has been since I started following Division I collegiate wrestling is the weight with the most opportunity for guys who haven't yet, to do so. Guys who haven't won national titles yet. Guys who haven't made All American yet. Guys who haven't won conference titles yet. Guys who haven't qualified for the NCAA tournament yet. You have your forerunners, the wrestlers who have already placed their names on the map through prior accomplishments. Then you have those who haven't yet, but will by year's end. That's the 197 lbs weight class in a nutshell.
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KOLLIN MOORE
Senior
OHIO STATE
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A two time BIG 10 champion, with NCAA finishes of 3rd-4th-2nd at the NCAA's. He lost three times last season and all three losses were to NCAA champion Bo Nickal of Penn State. With Nickal graduated, Moore is the clear #1 at this time.
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KYLE CONEL
Senior
PENN STATE |
It's hard to replace a guy like Nickal, but if you're going to do it, it's hard to find anyone more qualified than Kent State transfer Kyle Conel. Not only did Conel place 3rd at the NCAA's in 2018, he defeated Moore twice in route. Once sticking him in under two minutes and then defeating him 5-3. Missing nearly all of 2018-2019, Moore at this point deserves the #1 ranking, but Conel will soon be challenging him for it.
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PATRICK BRUCKI
Junior
PRINCETON |
He only lost three times last season and all three losses were to seniors. A champion at both the Midlands and the EIWA's, Brucki finished fourth at the NCAA's.
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DAKOTA GEER
Junior
OKLAHOMA STATE |
An All American last year at 184 lbs, Geer moves up to 197 where he should again contend for All American honors.
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NICK REENAN
Junior
NORTH CAROLINA STATE |
An NCAA qualifier at both 174 and 184 lbs, Reenan moves up to 197 in an attempt to qualify at a third weight class this season.
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TANNER SLOAN
Freshman
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE |
While the Jackrabbits have had four time All Americans in Division II, they have yet to have one in Division I. With as good of a redshirt as Tanner Sloan had last season, he could likely be the first. A runner-up finish at Midlands, he not only defeated Nebraska's Eric Schultz 13-4 & All American Josh Hokit of Fresno State 5-4, he also defeated Iowa All American Jacob Warner 19-3 technical fall.
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JACOB WARNER
Sophomore
IOWA |
By Hawkeye fan standards, probably not all that great, but I'm more than just a Hawkeye fan. I'm a collegiate wrestling fan all around. By my standards Warner had a pretty damn good freshman campaign last year. He finished fifth at the Midlands, third at the BIG 10's and seventh at the NCAA's. I think he will before his career is said and done contend for the national title, but I'm not sure if it'll be this season.
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JOSH HOKIT
Senior
FRESNO STATE |
Certainly not the first as other multi-sport athletes in wrestling have proven that one can be successful participating in more than one sport, but still, one to make a statement due to the coverage of wrestling being greater than ever before. Not only was Hokit a standout on the bulldog football team, he placed seventh at Midlands, Fourth at the BIG 12's and fifth at the NCAA's. Proving to other young men who are standouts on both the gridiron and the mat, he may have started a trend. Over the years we've lost many quality wrestlers to the sport of football. I can name two football lost to wrestling. Maybe now because of Hokit, we'll have more who do both.
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NATHAN TRAXLER
Junior
STANFORD |
Fourth at CKLV, Runner-up at the Southern Scuffle and a PAC-12 championship, Traxler finished one match shy of being an All American last season. He defeated Geer 9-7 and looks to win another PAC-12 title this year, as his stiffest competition Tom Lane of Cal Poly, he defeated twice last season.
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JAY AIELLO
Junior
VIRGINIA |
Aiello's most impressive moment last season was placing third in Vegas. He also finished as the ACC runner-up. While he'll have to contend with both Reenan and Pittsburgh's Kellan Stout, he is in the hunt for this year's title.
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C.J. BRUNNER
SENIOR
PURDUE |
As mentioned when I wrote about the other weight classes; It isn't as much of a rarity as it once was as the other conferences continue getting better, but it is still noteworthy when a BIG 10 wrestler qualifies four times for the NCAA's but never places. Brunner certainly has the tools and talent to secure himself a spot on that stand and a medal. He placed fifth at CKLV and he had a beautiful 6-2 match against four time All American Willie Miklus of Missouri/Iowa State. For him it's really a matter of getting a decent draw and putting it all together at the right time.
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ALEX HOPKINS
Senior
ARMY |
Yet to ever be the full time starter for the Black Knights, Hopkins had himself a quiet but impressive showing as Rocco Caywood's backup last season. He defeated NCAA qualifiers Jake Woodley of Oklahoma, Tom Lane of Cal Poly, Anthony McLaughlin of Air Force and Sawyer Root of The Citadel.
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JOSH ROETMAN
Senior
NAVY |
Another talented wrestler from our armed services is Navy's Josh Roetman. One of the most improved wrestlers in the nation, he took an 8-7 record as a sophomore and turned it into a 26-12 record as a junior, capturing eighth place honors at the Southern Scuffle. He also placed fourth at the EIWA's.
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JAKE WOODLEY
Sophomore
OKLAHOMA |
He more than had the ability to be an All American last season, but as many often have and will again, he instead discovered how unforgiving the NCAA tournament can be. He 0-2, but only two weeks prior he finished third a the BIG 12's, with a win over Hokit.
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TOM LANE
Senior
CAL POLY |
Things have been kinda slow for wrestling in San Luis Obispo for a while and senior Tom Lane is what could speed things back up. He showed what he's capable of more than once last season. A sixth place finish at Midlands was a teaser and a 4-2 sudden victory over Warner was a full preview. He'll have to figure out Traxler if he wants to win a PAC-12 title, but he is more than capable of it.
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ERIC SCHULTZ
Junior
NEBRASKA |
A two time NCAA qualifier, Schultz finished runner-up at CKLV and fourth at the BIG 10's last season. A All American contender.
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JACOB JAKOBSEN
Junior
LEHIGH |
I highly doubt it is, but I'd love to discover that Jacob Jakobsen's middle name is Jacob. Fifth at the EIWA's and owned a 8-5 win over All American Ben Honis of Cornell. I'm pretty confident he'll be the starter for the Mountain Hawks this season, but Kyle Gentile could take the spot as well. He had wins over Aiello, and Sawyer Root of The Citadel.
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WYATT KOELLING
Senior
MISSOURI |
He has yet to qualify for the NCAA tournament, but has shown promise that can. A 20-12 record as a sophomore and a 22-10 record as a junior, he simply needs to add more wins like that he had against Brunner last season.
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DREW PHIPPS
Senior
BUCKNELL |
An NCAA qualifier last season, Phipps showed a glimpse of All American ability by nearly majoring Honis 13-7.
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NOAH ADAMS
Sophomore
WEST VIRGINIA |
An NCAA qualifier as a freshman last season, Adams looks to add another qualification to his resume this season.
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JOEL SHAPIRO
Freshman
IOWA STATE |
The BIG 12 looks to be a rather deep and tough here. I see as many as nine allocations by the time the tournament rolls around. Will one of them be Shapiro? I think it is possible.
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ANDREW DAVISON
Sophomore
MICHIGAN |
This spot could just as easily be Jackson Striggow's. Regardless of who starts for the Wolverines, I think they both have a legitimate shot at being NCAA qualifiers.
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LUCAS DAVISON
Freshman
NORTHWESTERN |
Overshadowed by the performance of Sloan, Davison showed the wrestling world that he's another freshman to look forward to this season by placing third at the Midlands. He defeated Phipps 14-2 major decision.
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KORDELL NORFLEET
Sophomore
ARIZONA STATE |
An NCAA qualifier in 2018, who also won a PAC-12 title, Norfleet will need to wrestle a full season full of notable victories to secure a spot among the thirty-three this year. I can see him upsetting either Lane or Traxler, but have difficulty seeing him upset both.
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BRAD WILTON
Sophomore
MICHIGAN STATE |
As loaded as the BIG 10 is, there is no guarantee but Wilton does stand a decent shot at qualifying for the NCAA's. He pinned Lane last year in 6:47
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JACOB HOLSCHLAG
Junior
NORTHERN IOWA |
A year off due to injury, I would like to think that Holschlag comes back on fire, and quickly shows Moore, Brucki and Conel that there's another horse in town. Yet injuries of such nature sometimes result the other way. Time will tell.
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DYLAN REYNOLDS
Senior
EDINBORO |
When the at large selections were made last season I thought that Reynolds could've gotten better consideration than what he was given. I realize that the EWL wasn't the toughest conference, but he did have 32 wins. They weren't all against nobodies either. He defeated Root, Roetman, Ethan Laird of Rider and Greg Bulsak of Clarion. All of which were NCAA qualifiers.
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GREG BULSAK
Junior
CLARION |
Another member of the roster that is showing that Clarion wrestling is headed uphill. The two time NCAA qualifier placed sixth at last year's CKLV.
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BEAU BRESKE
Junior
WISCONSIN |
Round of twelve at the Midlands and sixth at the BIG 10's, Breske isn't a sure shot, but should contend for NCAA qualification.
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JACOB SEELY
Senior
NORTHERN COLORADO |
His record is never much to look at, but he always seems to wrestle well at the Southern Scuffle and get himself into the NCAA tournament. He finished fifth at last year's Scuffle.
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CORDELL EATON
Senior
NORTH DAKOTA STATE |
And yet another senior who has yet to make it to the NCAA tournament, but should in his final year of competition. Eaton has won 17 matches in each of his three varsity seasons and he owns a victory over Seely.
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HUNTER RITTER
Senior
MINNESOTA |
A two time NCAA qualifier for Wisconsin, Ritter will go for his third qualification this season, this time wrestling for Minnesota.
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ETHAN LAIRD
Junior
RIDER |
The hunt for a former EWL wrestler to be the first to win a MAC title is real and a wrestler with a great chance in doing so is Rider's Ethan Laird. Laird not only won the EWL title last season, he also defeated Woodley 4-0.
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BRANDON WHITMAN
Sophomore
NORTH CAROLINA |
Wins over Virginia Tech's Tom Sleigh and Appalachian State's Randall Diabe got Whitman into the NCAA tournament last season as a freshman. He'll need wins like that again in order qualify in 2020.
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KELLAN STOUT
Senior
PITTSBURGH |
His record was only 12-10 last season. Yet it's sometimes not the quantity of victories but the quality. He deated Adams 5-3, Phipps 6-2 and Woodley 4-3. He'll contend for this year's ACC title.
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TIMOTHY YOUNG
Senior
OLD DOMINION |
Finally wrestling most of a full season last year, Young showed hints of NCAA qualification. He defeated both Koelling and NCAA qualifier Stephen Loiseau of Drexel.
If you notice I didn't mention any Southern Conference wrestlers, which it's certain that they'll qualify at least one. I'm just not sure who that is right now. I wonder though if by year's end I'll feel that a BIG 10 or BIG 12 wrestler deserved that spot more.
That's 197
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