2021 Midlands Preview 184 lbs

Mark Hall Post Graduate formally of Penn State 

Going 1-2-2 at the NCAA tournament during his decorated career at Penn State, to my knowledge Mark Hall thus far is the only post graduate I know of that will be competing in this year's Midlands tournament.  As good as he was during his collegiate days & considering that he is only two years removed from graduation, I'd say he's the favorite to win a title. 

 Four individuals stick out as plausible finalists with 2020 Olympic Bronze medalist Myles Amine of Michigan leading the way.  The Wolverine is a four time NCAA All American, having earned three bronze medals there in addition to his Olympic one. If anyone in the bracket can give Hall a match, it's Amine. In college he was 0-5 against the Nittany Lion, but every loss was by 1 point and in their last meeting, he took Hall into the tiebreakers. 

One to not overlook here is Iowa's Abe Assad. After a promising freshman campaign, that included a runner-up finish at the Midlands, Assad missed all of last season due to injury.  This year he's had some struggles, including a loss to a kid still in high school. Like teammate Young, he's in dire need of a huge positive right now and a good showing at the Midlands is the perfect subscription.   

Two others that could break through and make the finals (dependent of being on the opposite side of the bracket of Hall of course) are Northern Illinois' Brit Wilson and Rutger's John Poznanski.  Wilson finished 3rd at the Midlands a couple of tournaments ago & Poznanski, currently 10-0 showed us his skills at the NCAA's last season with a 4th place finish. 

As to other place-winners I believe Cal Poly's Bernie Truax, Illinois' Zach Braunagel and Indiana's D.J. Washington are three of our best candidates.  Tuax, 4th at last year's NCAA tournament has shown how dangerous he can be in high pressure situations.  Braunagel has always fared well at the Midlands, including an impressive 4th place finish at the most recent championships & Washington who placed 6th at 174 lbs, has thus far done a great job since moving up to 184.  He's currently 9-0 on the season. 

Others to watch out for include 

#19 Travis Stefanik of Princeton
#20 Max Lyon of Purdue
#22 Chris Weiler of Wisconsin 
#23 Caleb Hopkins of Campbell
#29 Brad Laughlin of Army
#30 Gregg Harvey of Pittsburgh 
#31 Ethan Duca of Edinboro
#33 David Key of Navy
DeAndre Nassar of Cleveland State
Amine's teammate Jelani Embree of Michigan
Zayne Lehman of Michigan State
Poznanski's teammate Billy Janzer
Michael Battista of Virginia 

#1 in NAIA Ben Lee
Grand View 

If any small school, small division wrestler is going to place at this year's Midlands at 184 lbs, the best bet is Grand View's Ben Lee. Lee recently took a 6th place showing at the Reno tournament of champions. What a statement it would be for him, Grand View and NAIA wrestling as a whole if he were to add a Midlands medal along with it to his resume.