It's more than obvious when looking up and down the lineup that head Coach Kevin Ward is working hard to make his team one of the best in Army history. They're taking on all comers and their home invitational with two of the nations top 25 teams is no exception. It looks to be one of the toughest invitationals West Point as seen in years.
125 lbs
Last season Trey Chalifoux took the title here as a junior. It'll higher, more rocky mountain to climb in order to do so again in his final year wearing the black, gold and gray. Both #10 Brock Hudkins of Indiana and #11 Drew Hildebrandt of Central Michigan will be in this years bracket. Also looking to make names for themselves in the 2019-2020 season will be Bloomsburg's Willy Girard, Hosfta's Dylan Ryder, Michigan's Austin Assad and Penn State's Brandon Meredith. Placing in the top six, let alone winning another title will be a chore.
133 lbs
On the flip side Lane Peters who finished in fifth place last season stands a legitimate shot at improving on his previous finish. While he won't beat #3 Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State, he's more than capable of finishing second. Both Indiana's Kyle Luigs and Michigan's Joey Silva will also be gunning for that spot.
141 lbs
This weight class belongs to #3 Nick Lee of Penn State who could likely major or even tech or pin his way through the tournament. Where Corey Shie falls in his home tournament this year? Hard to say. There are a lot of guys in this weight class out of the top twenty who are still rather tough. Central Michigan's Dresdon Simon has placed at both the Michigan State Open & the Mountaineer Open. Indiana's Paul Konrath has been known to be tough and then there is also both Mattins of Michigan to contend with.
149 lbs
Chances of seeing Olympic redshirt Kanen Storr here are slim. I doubt we see much if anything collegiate wise out of any of the Olympic redshirts. Yet I always mention their names, cause the second I don't is when they do. I think the race for the title here will be between Jarod Verkleeran and Bo Pipher two Nittany Lions of Penn State duking it out for a spot on the varsity. Home crowd favorite P.J. Ogunsanya could potentially knock off either one in what I would consider to be an upset.
157 lbs
Lucas Weiland finished third here last season but to finish as high or higher this year will be every bit if not more of a challenge. Not only does he have teammate Markus Hartman to contend with he also has #6 Brady Berge of Penn State, #12 Will Lewan of Michigan and not ranked but always tough Logan Parks of Central Michigan.
165 lbs
The chances of seeing currently redshirting Logan Massa here are about as good as they were for Storr or for that matter Stevan Micic. (In case your wondering why I didn't mention Micic earlier it's because I figure he might be training in Serbia? I don't know.) It'd be nice to think that maybe Cael McCormick could bring the home crowd to their feet with a victory over #1 Vincenzo Joseph but that's not likely to happen.
174 lbs
Is it worth even mentioning the name Myles Amine of Michigan? No, probably not. I highly doubt we see him here either. What interest me most is how #8 Ben Harvey of Army will look against #1 Mark Hall of Penn State. I'm not even teasing the idea of him beating him, but I think Harvey has the ability to keep it closer than some would give him credit. Maybe even score on something offensive. I'll also be keeping an eye on Phillip Spadafora of Maryland. He upset VMI's Neal Richards last week.
184 lbs
On paper it looks as if this weight class belongs to #2 Shakur Rasheed of Penn State but I think as well as #17 Jelani Embree of Michigan has looked this season, that he could do more than give him a scare. Of course there is also home team Noah Stewart as well as Bloomsburg's Trevor Allard who always seems to get overlooked. If Allard can manage to finish ahead of Embree, I imagine those who do the rankings will notice.
197 lbs
Penn State's Kyle Conel is currently ranked #3 and no better than he looked in his squeaked by win over Navy last week, I'm not sure if he should be that high. I don't see anyone here beating him but I'm anxious to see him against both home team Alex Hopkins and Michigan's Jackson Striggow. Austin Stith became the first wrestler in the new era of Presbyterian wrestling to place at a tournament with a third place finish two weekends ago at the Battle of the Citadel. He should place again in the top six.
HWT
Seeding should place a semi-final #3 Mason Parris of Michigan and #7 Matt Stencel of Central Michigan in a rematch of the Michigan State Open finals. Parris controlled the match with a dominating 9-2 victory. He stayed low, kept away from Stencel's upperbody and the game plan worked move for move. It'll be interesting to see if the match plays out differently this time and what changes Stencel will make. Even more interesting is to see how either one of these guys fares against #1 Anthony Cassar of Penn State. Fascination doesn't stop there as the other battle here is between two members of the home team Bobby Heald and Ben Sullivan battling it out for both a higher placement and a spot on the varsity.
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