Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Midwest Classic Preview 157 lbs (12/18-19/2021)

 




And it just keeps getting tougher!  125 was tough, 133 was tough, 141 was tough, 149 was tough. 157? TOUGH.  We're talking 11 ranked wrestlers & six returning NCAA DII All Americans including last year's Champion and last year's runner-up.  In the sport of wrestling we often look back on the careers of wrestlers and always put into question upon our evaluation, "were they an All American?"  Trust me when I say when it comes to DII wrestling, you can ask, "Were they a Midwest Classic place-winner" and it has every bit the merit. 





Is anyone going to challenge James Wimer of Findlay this tournament? I don't think so. I really don't think so. The returning NCAA DII champion has looked solid and smooth in all of his competitions. The only one that concerns me in relation to Wimer is Tyler Lucas of Central Oklahoma who was 5th at the DII nationals last season.  Not only did he keep Wimer to a 3-1 decision, he owns a 1-0 decision over NCAA Runner-up Ronnie Gentile of Lindenwood.  If it wasn't for his 3-0 loss to John Ridle of Central Missouri, I would feel very confident in thinking that Lucas might shock the wrestling world and win this tournament.  

We also have DII 4th placer Dawson Combest of Indianapolis, DII 6th placer Nick Young of Gannon and DII 8th placer Braydon Huber of Mary looking for spots on the award stand as well.  Add in John Burger of Limestone, Chase Luensman of Upper Iowa, Josiah Rider of Adams State, John Ridle of Central Missouri and Mason Boutain and we have ourselves a total of 11 extremely talented wrestlers fighting for a spot in the top 8. 







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