Looks to be a pretty good year for the Northwestern Wildcats. I see a pretty good showing at the BIG 10's, with up to 7 NCAA qualifiers, 4 of which I think are All American candidates and one that is in the running for the NCAA individual title. What I'm most excited about is Northwestern's chances at having their best Midlands tournament ever. More on that later.
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| 125 Michael DeAugustino Sophomore Record: 42-21 NCAA: 20'NQ, 21'R12 BIG 10: 20'3rd, 21'5th MIDLANDS: 20'2nd CKLV: 20'3rd |
I look for this to be a great year for the young Wildcat. 125 lbs is an incredibly tough weight class and DeAgustino has already proven himself in a number of ways. Neither fact is lost on me. He has losses that certainly stick out, but he also has victories such as 6-3 over Pat McKee of Minnesota and 6-3 over Brandon Courtney of Arizona State that stick out as well. These preseason outlooks are to illustrate a team at its best, and I think at his best DeAustino is runner-up to Iowa's Spencer Lee. I mean that Midlands, BIG 10's and NCAA's. He could collect enough silver this season to head to Branson.
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| 133 Chris Cannon Freshman Record: 31-6 NCAA: 21'7th BIG 10: 21'4th MIDLANDS: 20'7th |
An All American last season for the Wildcats I believe we'll see Cannon on the award stand again this season. The BIG 10 is rather loaded, so I'm thinking 5th there and probably 7th or 8th again at the NCAA's.
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| 149 Yahya Thomas OR Trevor Chumbley Junior OR Freshman Record: 58-29 OR Record: 26-8 NCAA: 20'NQ, 21'3rd OR MIDLANDS: 18'7th, 19'3rd OR BIG 10: 20'WC, 21'8th OR CKLV: 20'3rd OR |
I had the privilege of meeting and having about a half hour conversation with Thomas' cousin about a year ago. I told him that I was rather surprised that he had to fight for the varsity spot in 2019 & that he wasn't selected at year's end for the BIG 10's. I told him that I watched Yahya at the Midlands and felt that he obviously had the tools to be very successful. I wondered when he was finally gonna get the fire lit under his butt and start wrestling like he was capable. 2021, NCAA's was obviously the answer to that question.
As to this season? I think a Midlands title is definitely within grasp. Sammy Sasso of Ohio State makes me think at the moment, BIG 10 runner-up & with Yianni Diakomihalis at the weight, another 3rd at best come NCAA's. Still a lot of fun to see him wrestling so well at last year's NCAA tournament. Hopefully something within him was unlocked and stays unlocked.
With that said, I think we already know that Chumbley is going to be a good back up. He's already defeated Thomas in a match, plus he has victories over Penn State's Bo Pipher and Nate Limmex of Purdue. He also gave Iowa State's Jarrett Degen a scare as well.
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| 157 Ryan Deakin Senior 115-19 NCAA: 18'NQ, 19'6th, 20'NQ*, 21'3rd BIG 10: 18'6th, 19'5th, 20'1st, 21'1st MIDLANDS: 17'3rd, 18'3rd, 19'1st CKLV: 19'1st, 20'1st |
Thus far two BIG 10 titles, a Midlands Title and a CKLV title. The only thing left to do is to win the NCAA title, and why not? He owns a victory over champion David Carr of Iowa State 9-3. Of course what is done on paper is often much harder to accomplish on the mat. Can't see Deakin any worse than 3rd.
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| 165 David Ferrante Record: 5-10 NCAA: 21'NQ BIG 10: 21'7th |
The shortened 2020-2021 season hurt some wrestlers while it benefited others. One of the wrestlers I believe that it benefited was Ferrante. A 5-10 record isn't much to look at, but in those 5 victories, a 10-6 decision over Joe Lee of Penn State and an 11-5 decision of Danny Braunagel of Illinois are. I think the pre-med major in route to one day be an Orthopedic surgeon should once again qualify for the NCAA's this season.
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| 197 Andrew Davison Junior Record: 18-8 |
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| HWT Lucas Davison Sophomore Record: 35-17 NCAA: 20'NQ, 21'NQ MIDLANDS: 19'3rd, 20'R12 |
He certainly proved his worth at 197 lbs, but now he's up at HWT. Difficult to say how he'll do. I'm reminded of an Indiana wrestler from years back by the name of Pat DeGain. He competed at 197 for three years. I'd call him a top 15 wrestler. Then his senior season he said to Hell with cutting weight, bumped up to HWT and finished 3rd in the nation. I can see a similar situation for Davison. He's tall, lanky and I highly doubt he's walking around at 275 right now. Most likely he'll be among the smaller heavyweights, and will be able to use speed and quickness to his advantage.
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125 - AA, as good as 2nd
133 - AA
141- DNQ
149- 3rd
157 - Champion
165 - NQ
174 - DNQ
184 - DNQ
197 - Betting on NQ, but could see DNQ
HWT - NQ
That's the best case scenario I see for the Wildcats this season come year's end.
NOW, let's look at the Midlands for a second.
Since 1963 Northwestern has never won their own tournament. They're not going to this year either. Iowa isn't even touchable. With that said, what Northwestern IS capable of, is having their best Midlands tournament ever.
They've had great tournaments in the past. In 2007, they had 6 place winners which included 1 champ and two runner-ups. Five place-winners in 2006 with two champions and one runner up. Five in 2011 with two champs and Five in 2014 with one champ and two runner-ups.
They've never had more than 6 place winners. This year, I can see them having 7. Probably a Jiminy Cricket upon a shooting star's chance, but it is possible. Two champions is feasible with a runner-up. Think either way, highlights at the Midlands for the host this year.
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