 |
| #1 A.J. Ferrari Oklahoma State |
The man to beat at 197 lbs. It makes one question, is there anyone in NCAA DI wrestling that can challenge Oklahoma State's A.J. Ferrari? Is there any bronco out there, wild enough a horse that this Cowboy can't tame? Or like Gable Steveson of Minnesota, and other past wrestlers such as Stephen Abas of Fresno State and former OSU great Alex Dieringer, do we just sit back and watch him go undefeated throughout the remainder of his career? That is the question.
If he was 100% healthy and 100% ready to go, I guarantee you Cornell's Ben Darmstadt could give Ferrari a run for his money. We'll most likely not see him at the Scuffle and it's a wonder as to when or even if we'll see him back in action again. Ability wise though, he'd be a challenge for Ferrari.
Rocky Elam of Missouri? I'll give that realm of possibility and the guy that Ferrari really needs to be weary of is North Carolina State's Isaac Trumble. I don't know if the wrestling community is fully aware of how good this guy really is. Don't let the odd 10-2 loss to Binghamton's Louie DePrez fool you. A lot of wrestlers in their first couple of years sometimes have those types of losses as they discover themselves out on the collegiate mats. His recent 3-2 loss to Iowa's two time All American Jacob Warner, chalk it up to experience overcoming rookie mistakes. This guy is good, real good. He has yet to redshirt & with the extra year I guess you'd have to still call him a 'true' freshman. Mark my words, before his career is all said and done, he will win a national title. I say he's already good enough to give Ferrari a run for his $$. We could very well find out at the scuffle!
Our other place-winners?
I'm not sure if the Southern Scuffle does a Gorriaran Award or the equivalent of or not, but if they do, you may very well be looking at the man who's going to win it when you look at North Dakota State's Owen Pentz. 8 victories thus far this season in his 8-2 record, and six of them have been by fall.
Michigan State's Cam Caffey is always a tough customer, you know he's going to contend for a medal.
South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan has fallen a bit this season, but it's only a matter of time before he works his way back up that ladder. Is he going to be back to his old self at the Scuffle? It's a very real possibility.
Alan Clothier of Northern Colorado is one to mention. He's never been favored going into this tournament and yet despite predictions made against him, he's brought home a medal three times. Tha's saying something. The Southern Scuffle is one of the toughest tournaments in the nation, bar none and he could very well end up a four time place-winner. That deserves mention, that deserves recognition, that deserves praise.
Minnesota's Michial Foy has shown promise with a 9-3 victory over Sloan. The son of two time Olympian & Pan American gold medalist Michial Foy Sr was NJCAA champion for Harper college.
Two more guys I can see possibly making the award stand are Maryland's Jaron Smith and VMI's Tyler Mousaw. Smith's entire career has been a battle against injuries and finally in his seventh year of collegiate wrestling he FINALLY looks healthy. 8-2 on the season, I think he ends his season with a winning record and he makes his first trip to the NCAA's. What a treat it'd be for him and Maryland to make the award stand.
As to Mousaw, he's been one of the bright lights on the Keydet wrestling team. He went 12-2 last season and currently has 8 wins on this season. He'd have to wrestle extremely well and pull off some upsets, but I think if VMI is to have a Scuffle place-winner this season, he'd be the one to do it.
Others to watch for
#19 Jacob Cardenos Cornell
#29 Max Shaw North Carolina
#32 Dakota Howard Virginia Tech
Andy Smith Virginia Tech
Nick Stemmet Stanford
Matt Correnti Rider
Canton Marriott Missouri
Austin Stith George Mason
Kaden Russell Duke
Kayne Hutchison Air Force
Rocky Elam of Missouri? I'll give that realm of possibility and the guy that Ferrari really needs to be weary of is North Carolina State's Isaac Trumble. I don't know if the wrestling community is fully aware of how good this guy really is. Don't let the odd 10-2 loss to Binghamton's Louie DePrez fool you. A lot of wrestlers in their first couple of years sometimes have those types of losses as they discover themselves out on the collegiate mats. His recent 3-2 loss to Iowa's two time All American Jacob Warner, chalk it up to experience overcoming rookie mistakes. This guy is good, real good. He has yet to redshirt & with the extra year I guess you'd have to still call him a 'true' freshman. Mark my words, before his career is all said and done, he will win a national title. I say he's already good enough to give Ferrari a run for his $$. We could very well find out at the scuffle!
Our other place-winners?
I'm not sure if the Southern Scuffle does a Gorriaran Award or the equivalent of or not, but if they do, you may very well be looking at the man who's going to win it when you look at North Dakota State's Owen Pentz. 8 victories thus far this season in his 8-2 record, and six of them have been by fall.
Michigan State's Cam Caffey is always a tough customer, you know he's going to contend for a medal.
South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan has fallen a bit this season, but it's only a matter of time before he works his way back up that ladder. Is he going to be back to his old self at the Scuffle? It's a very real possibility.
Alan Clothier of Northern Colorado is one to mention. He's never been favored going into this tournament and yet despite predictions made against him, he's brought home a medal three times. Tha's saying something. The Southern Scuffle is one of the toughest tournaments in the nation, bar none and he could very well end up a four time place-winner. That deserves mention, that deserves recognition, that deserves praise.
Minnesota's Michial Foy has shown promise with a 9-3 victory over Sloan. The son of two time Olympian & Pan American gold medalist Michial Foy Sr was NJCAA champion for Harper college.
Two more guys I can see possibly making the award stand are Maryland's Jaron Smith and VMI's Tyler Mousaw. Smith's entire career has been a battle against injuries and finally in his seventh year of collegiate wrestling he FINALLY looks healthy. 8-2 on the season, I think he ends his season with a winning record and he makes his first trip to the NCAA's. What a treat it'd be for him and Maryland to make the award stand.
As to Mousaw, he's been one of the bright lights on the Keydet wrestling team. He went 12-2 last season and currently has 8 wins on this season. He'd have to wrestle extremely well and pull off some upsets, but I think if VMI is to have a Scuffle place-winner this season, he'd be the one to do it.
Others to watch for
#19 Jacob Cardenos Cornell
#29 Max Shaw North Carolina
#32 Dakota Howard Virginia Tech
Andy Smith Virginia Tech
Nick Stemmet Stanford
Matt Correnti Rider
Canton Marriott Missouri
Austin Stith George Mason
Kaden Russell Duke
Kayne Hutchison Air Force
No comments:
Post a Comment