149 lbs at the Midwest Classic is going to be an interesting weight. Led by a couple of upper-classmen it is a weight full of a lot of freshmen, some true looking to make a name for themselves. Experience Vs youth will be the game at 149. Looking at 11 ranked wrestlers & three returning NCAA DII All Americans.
We could see a rematch of last year's NCAA DII 5th place match between Adams State's Noah Hermosillo and Ashland's Carson Speelman. Hermosillo defeated Ashland 4-3 earlier in the tournament but dropped a 9-6 decision to him for 5th place. Then again, even if Speelman does get a high seed, it's no guarantee he'll make the finals. He has had trouble with Indianapolis freshman Logan Bailey and he's dropped a decision to Pittsbugh-Johnstown's Jacob Ealy, who finished 8th at last year's NCAA DII tournament. Central Oklahoma's Brik Filippo has placed 8th here in the past & will be looking for steps higher on the Midwest Classic's award stand.
I would like to see Dalton Flint of Emmanuel have a good tournament and bring home a top 8 medal. His career has been hampered by bad injuries as well as bad luck. It would be nice to see him in his final season have some big successes like medaling at this tournament.
In the end this could end up being a bracket owned by freshmen. Gavin Quiocho of Glenville State and Jake Piccirilli of UNC-Pembroke, along with Eric Faught are all young, hungry and ready prove themselves at DII's toughest in-season tournament. Last by certainly not least, also fighting for top 8 showing will be Zach Van Alst of Cokerand Sean O'Hearon of Lake Erie.
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