There will be some readjustments and changing of weights, but all together I think that Northern Colorado should have 6 NCAA qualifiers this season.
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| 133 Mosha Schwartz Sophomore Record: 31-17 NCAA: 20'NQ, 21'NQ BIG 12: 20'2nd, 21'4th CKLV: 20'5th SOUTHERN SCUFFLE: 20'7th |
Schwartz thus far in his career has had good showing at CKLV, the Southern Scuffle and the BIG 12 tournament. Wins such as a 6-4 decision over Utah Valley's Taylor Lamont suggest he is capable of more.
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| 141 Andrew Alirez Sophomore Record: 28-5 NCAA: 20'NQ BIG 12: 20'4th SOUTHERN SCUFFLE: 20'2nd |
COVID-19 in 2020 and a shortened season in 2021 hasn't given us enough of an opportunity to truly see what Andrew Alirez is capable of, but a runner-up finish in a tough Southern Scuffle bracket two seasons ago is a decent preview. He's now down at 141 lbs, and if he can keep his strength he could be one of the biggest surprises of the season.
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| 149 Chris Sandoval Junior Record: 38-29 NCAA: 19'NQ BIG 12: 19'5th, 21'7th |
Ups and downs thus far throughout his career, Sandoval qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2019 & he has yet to return. Moving up from 141 lbs, perhaps he'll now compete at a more comfortable weight. Sometimes moving up a weight class can do wonders for a wrestler. Look at Keaton Anderson of Ohio State from years back. Wrestled 149 for three seasons, having respectable top 12 performances, and then bumped up to 157 to hand the returning national champion a 12-3 major decision loss. Then there are also times when someone bumps up a weight class and struggles immensely. I say Sandoval lands somewhere in between.
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| 165 Baylor Fernandes Freshman Record: 17-5 |
Minnesota transfer Baylor Fernandes should be an NCAA qualifier for the Bears this season. Last year at 157 he defeated R12 Luke Weber of North Dakota State 4-3 and he was Nebraska's Bubba Wilson's only loss, an 11-1 major decision.
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| 174 Jackson Hemauer Junior Record: 48-28 NCAA: 19'NQ, 21'NQ BIG 12: 19'5th, 21'2nd MIDLANDS: 19'4th |
Hemauer has had some nice wins thus far in his career defeating All American Brandon Womack as well as NCAA qualifiers Hayden Hastings of Wyoming, Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State, and Spencer Carey of Navy. Finishing an impressive runner-up at last year's BIG 12's, it'll be fun to see what he does this season.
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| 184 Alan Clothier Senior Record: 99-49 NCAA: 18'NQ, 19'NQ, 21'NQ SOCON: 18'2nd, 19'2nd BIG 12: 20'4th, 21'4th SOUTHERN SCUFFLE: 18'6th, 19'7th, 20'7th |
Clothier looks to end his career with quite a few credentials. I believe if he medals again this season he will be the Bears first four time Southern Scuffle place-winner, as he looks to make the NCAA tournament for a fifth time.
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125 - DNQ
133 - NQ
141 - NQ
149 - NQ
157 - DNQ
165 - NQ
174 - NQ
184 - NQ
197 - DNQ
HWT - DNQ
Question marks looking for answers within this lineup. I believe both Hemauer and Clothier are capable of more, but are they going to produce? How will Alirez and Sandoval switching weight classes work out? Not worried about Alirez, but do have concerns about Sandoval. Is Fernandes going to be as competitive at 165 as he looked to be at 157? These questions should be answered by the first of the year.
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