THE MICHIGAN STATE OPEN: PREVIEW AND THOUGHTS

125 lbs 

Last year #6 Rayvon Foley was the sole Spartan to win a title at his home tournament. #15 Austin Assad of Michigan placed third and #16 Drew Hildebrandt of Central Michigan placed fourth.  Both should enter in this year's competition as well. I don't see #10 Travis Piotrowski entering the tournament as I don't see Illinois sending him. I feel the same in regards to Purdue's #11 Devin Schroeder.  I think it'd be a good idea for Ohio State to enter #18 Malik Heinselman as I think he's capable of defeating both Assad and Hildebrandt.  Not only would it be good for his ranking, but also for his confidence.  I think both unranked Brock Hudkins of Indiana & Bryce West of Northern Illinois are more than capable of showing us that they're ranking worthy. I know unranked Christian Moody of Oklahoma is. It'll be interesting to see if they enter.

133 lbs 

 I think the chances of us seeing #4 Mickey Phillippi are pretty slim.  I imagine Pittsburgh will wrestle a backup here instead. With no Phillippi I think returning champ, #13 Mario Guillen of Ohio will have his greatest threat from #15 Derek Spann of Buffalo and #20 Paul Konrath of Indiana. No doubt about it #18 Dylan Duncan of Illinois would also be a threat, but the Illini don't strike me as a sending starters team in this situation.  What I'm most anxious to see, is Garrett Pepple.  Currently unranked at the moment, the former Hoosier turned Spartan could add another title for the host team.


141 lbs 

#3 Luke Pletcher of Ohio State Vs #1 Dom Demas of Oklahoma?  Are we going to get that lucky to see that good of a match this early?  I doubt it but one can hope.  I imagine Pletcher will stay home and we'll get a good look at redshirt freshman Quinn Kinner.  The other interesting thing about this weight class will be Michigan's Drew Mattin who has been at 125 lbs the past two seasons.  Is he big enough for 141?  We'll find out.  I also think that Purdue's Nate Limmex is a top twenty wrestler. Not sure if a top placing here would convince others of that or not, but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

149 lbs 

Michigan's Kanen Storr is redshirting and I highly doubt he competes in this open. He could, but I don't see it happening.   What I'm most excited for is a potential match-up between #8 Sammy Sasso & Ke-Shawn Hayes of Ohio State.  Everyone is so hyped and big on Sasso. Which is great but I feel like Hayes isn't getting near the respect he deserves. It's not like he's a nobody.  We're talking about a guy that has placed twice at CKLV and taken third at the BIG 10's.  I don't feel its a stretch by any means to think he can give Sasso a run for his money.   I also think it's unwise for anyone to over look #13 Griffin Parriott of Purdue.  Let's keep in mind that he handed NCAA runner-up Tyler Berger a loss at 157 lbs last year.


157 lbs 

Pittsburgh's #5 Taleb Rahmani has been accurately referred to as one of the best seniors this season yet to All American.  If #9 Anthony Artalona of Pennsylvania, #10 Justin Thomas of Oklahoma, #15 Eric Barone of Illinois & #20 Logan Parks of Ohio all enter the tournament, he'll be tested right away.  Being a home tournament I'm pretty sure that Michigan State enters Jake Tucker.  He's capable of a top twenty ranking and a good showing here, especially if its against the mentioned competition would put him into it.

165 lbs

The only ranked wrestlers at this weight class as of now are Michigan State's #18 Drew Hughes & #13 Joey Gunther of Illinois.   I'm not sold that'll be our finals though. For one last year's champion Caden McWhirter of Northern Illinois will be here.  There's also Tyler Keller of Buffalo & Jake Wentzel of Pittsburgh.  Not to mention, Gunther might not even wrestle here. I think he should though. I think winning this tournament which he is more than capable of would be good for him for an assortment of different reasons.


174 lbs 
In my opinion #8 Dylan Lydy of Purdue ranks as one of the best seniors yet to All American.  He'll be tested here by #13 Ethan Smith of Ohio State.  I also think there's great potential here for Pittsburgh's Gregg Harvey who is currently unranked to make some noise.

184 lbs 
Last season Britt Wilson of Northern Illinois won a title at 174 lbs. He'll really turn some heads and open up some eyes if he's able to capture a second title at 184 lbs.   #5 Nino Bonaccorsi of Pittsburgh, #12 Cam Caffey of Michigan State & #17 Max Lyon of Purdue all have potential to be in the bracket. Not to mention Jelani Embree of Michigan, Hunter Yeargan of Ohio, & Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State, all currently unranked have something to prove as well.

197 lbs 
Are we going to see #1 Kollin Moore of Ohio State?  Probably not.  What we will see I believe is backup Kevin Snyder and it'll be interesting to see how he fields against the competition.  #12 C.J. Brunner of Purdue, #15 Tom Lane of Cal Poly & last year's champion #18 Jake Woodley of Oklahoma will all be duking it out for a shot at the title.  I'll also say to keep an eye on Michigan's Jackson Striggow.  Although unranked at the moment, he finished second here last season. I'd also keep an eye of Pittsburgh's Kellan Stout who's been known to pull off an upset or two.


HWT

Central Michigan's #5 Matt "Won by Fall" Stencel took the title here last season although theoretically this year's competition could be stiffer.  #7 Mason Parris of Michigan, #9 Demetrius Thomas of Pittsburgh & #12 Chase Singletary of Ohio State all pose serious threats.  Unranked Chase Beard of Michigan State has shown potential in the past for his capabilities.  What better place than at home in front of Spartan wrestling fans to deliver?



I know good and well that as exciting as some of these matches sound that not all of them are going to happen.  Opens a lot of the time are second and third stringers.  While we do see some starters, it's certain we won't see them all.

From a Spartan point of view, this could potentially be a great year for the host.  Foley, Hughes and Caffey are all in serious contention to win titles here.

Should prove to be a fun tournament.