SUPER REGION V DII Preview ( Feb 26th, 2022)

                        SUPER REGION V 


One of the most competitive regions in NCAA Division II wrestling, Region V is full of plenty of parity and plenty of circumstances where one guy won on one day and the other guy won on the other. It'll be an absolute war to place in the top 3. 

125 lbs 

2021 NCAA DII 3rd place All American Joe Arroyo of UW-Parkside, a favorite to win this year's DII title is the obvious favorite to win the Super Region V title at 125 lbs.  A 12-3 major decision over Jaden Verhagen of may, he has defeated St Cloud State's Paxton Creese twice by scores of 9-7 sudden victory and 6-3.   

Jaxson Rohman of Augustana (S.D.) will challenge Creese for a spot in the finals.  He has defeated Verhagen 6-2, but it should be noted as good of a season as the true freshman has had, he has shown himself to be susceptible to loss.  He dropped a 4-2 decision to Oscar Nellis of Minot State (who at the time this was written, had a losing record).  It's favorable to think that the three ranked wrestlers in this weight class will be the ones to go to the NCAA DII tournament, but it'll be anything but a given. 

133 lbs 

Two time NCAA DII All American Garrett Vos of St Cloud State looks to be the forerunner for the Super Region V title here.  6th in 2019 & 2nd last season he owns both an 18-4 & 8-1 decision over Jack Huffman of Augustana (S.D.) as well as a 17-1 technical fall over Kaden Anderlik of Upper Iowa. 

As we speak of Huffman, it is safe to assume that he'll be the starter for the Super Region V, but I'm not 100% sold. He is the one with the ranking, but Brandon Carroll would be a threat to qualification in his own right. An NCAA qualifier last season, although he has both an 11-6 & a 10-1 loss to Vos, he's also beaten Vos in the past too. A 16-8 major decision. 

Reece Barnhardt of Mary will most certainly be another contender for NCAA qualification status. A 13-1 major decision over Cole Jones of MSU-Moorhead, he's dropped decisions 8-3 to Vos & 4-3 to Huffman.   

As to Jones, the move up to 133 from 125 thus far has not been kind. Along with the losses already mentioned, he also has a 9-4 loss to Anderlik.  However, he was an All American in 2019 with a 7th place finish & he did qualify for last year's championships. 

141 lbs 

The Super Region V championship gold medal is spoken for I believe.  Last year's NCAA DII Runner-up Joseph Bianchini of St. Cloud State is currently the #1 ranked wrestler in the nation.  With a 5-1 victory over Tate Murty of Upper Iowa, the only note of possible concern is the Murty has taken him into sudden victory in the past. A 7-5 overtime match to be exact. 

Murty, who was 6th at last year's DII championships would be a safe bet for second place here, but definitely not a guarantee. Rich Kolton of Northern State owns a 12-6 victory over him, which leads me to believe that the race to a third place finish is going to be an all out slobberknocker. Cayden Henschel of UW-Parkside owns a 8-6 victory over Kolton, as Laken Boese of Mary owns an 8-3 victory over Henschel.  To make matters even simpler, Kolbe O'Rbien of MSU-Mankato owns a 15-7 victory over Boese. 

Good luck. 

149 lbs 

As of the time this was written, Garrett Aldrich of St Cloud State has not wrestling a match in 2021-2022.  It is safe to assume though that if he enters the Super Region V, he will be a contender.  An NCAA runner-up at last year's DII championships, it is not however a guarantee that he will win.  Ironically enough in three meetings with MSU-Mankato's Kyle Rathman, Aldrich went 1-2.  Rathman completely dominated with 7-0 & 8-0 shutout victories, yet "when it counted" at DII's, Aldrich was able to pull off a 6-4 decision.  Aldrich has also had some scares with Upper Iowa's Eric Faught, who he's defeated twice by scores of 5-4 and 3-2. 

Rathman has thus far finished 7th at the NCAA DII championships, he owns a 4-2 victory over Wyatt Turnquist of Northern State but has thus far had difficultly with Augustana's Keaten Schorr. While he has won a 3-1 decision against the Viking, he has also dropped a 3-1, as well as a 3-2 decision.    

Faught who was an NCAA DII qualifier himself last season, owns a 4-3 decision over Turnquist. 

157 lbs 

Not sure why Colby Njos of St Cloud State isn't currently in the rankings, but I'm sure there's a logical explanation for it.  The 2021 NCAA DII 3rd place finisher has a 9-7 victory over Chase Luensman of Upper Iowa & will most certainly fight for the Super Region V title at 157 lbs. 

Per ranking James Burks of Northern State looks to be another qualifier as he could very well have to face Brayden Huber of Mary whom he's had quite the feud with with.  Huber was 8th at last year's NCAA DII championships.  In five matches, Burks has won 8-5, 10-7 & a 4:29 fall whereas Huber has won 9-4 & 14-8 decisions.   Luensman for the record is a two time NCAA DII qualifier. 

165 lbs 

Two time NCAA DII qualifier Shane Gantz looks to be our champion here at 165 lbs in the Super Region V. He owns victories of Devon Donovan of St Cloud State 5-2 & Leo Mushinsky of Mary 11-3.  I'm 99.9% positive that come tournament time that Donovan will be the starter, but going to throw in a word for Jared Head regardless.  While Donovan has a 6-2 victory over head, want to point out Head's 3-2 victory over Mushinsky.   The other guy to look at here to possibly get a spot in the top 3 and qualify for nationals is Miles Fitzgerald of Augustana. For what it's worth he owns a 10-8 sudden victory over Head & more notable he owns a 3-2 tiebreaker over Mushinsky.  He took Donovan to a 3-2 decision. 

174 lbs 

If you looked up unfair in Webster's Dictionary, you might very well find 2022 174 lbs Super Region V.  Five of the nations best wrestlers, all ranked within the top 11 and only three of them get to go to DII nationals while the other two stay home.  There has been an argument for quite some time for DII to adapt a qualifier system similar to that of NCAA DI & the NAIA.  Need be convincing testimony? Rest the case here. 

MSU-Mankato's Trevor Turiff takes the lead here as he is (as of the time this was written) the highest ranked, who is a returning NCAA DII runner-up from last season.  While he does have a 3-2 loss to Cade Mueller of Augustana on his record, he's also beaten the Viking 5-3 & he's undefeated against the rest of the competition.   He owns a 7-4 victory over Dominic Murphy of St Cloud State and he owns four victories over Max Bruss of Mary.  These include a 19-6 major decision, a 9-5 decision, a 7-5 decision and a 5-4 decision.  

Mueller is 1-1 with Bruss (who himself was an NCAA DII qualifier last season). He defeated Bruss 5-4, but lost to him 3-0.  Mueller also owns a 4-3 victory over Murphy. 

To make matters even more complicated, Murphy owns an 8-7 victory over Bruss.  

Lastly in contention for a top 3 spot to secure a place at the national tournament, Job Ayala of UW-Parkside owns a 3-2 victory over Bruss, but lost by fall to Murphy in 2:33. 

Final analysis? Finishing top 3 here may not be AA status at the DII tournament but it might as well be. This is a TOUGH bracket & getting 1st, 2nd or 3rd here deserves all the praise it gets. 

184 lbs 

Seeding will determine quite a bit here, but I think as far as which three of the four end up going & which one ends up staying home, could very well be up in the air. 

Caden Steffen of SMSU looks good as far as his 5th place finish from last year's NCAA DII tournament. As of the time this was written, he split with Reece Woracheck owning a 5:15 fall over the Ranger & having lost to him 3-1 sudden victory.  He's 0-2 Vs William Pitzner of St. Cloud State, a NCAA DII qualifier last season himself, dropping 7-0 & 4-1 decisions.  Vs Kolby Kost of Augustana (S.D.) he owns three wins against one loss.  11-1 major decision, 13-6 decision & a 2:27 fall Vs a 12-4 major decision. 

Pitzner is 2-1 Vs Woracheck, all close matches having won two 2-0 decisions & having dropped a 1-0 decision.   Pitzner and Kost have both pinned one another in the first period. 

197 lbs 

Upper Iowa's Zac Ryg (as of the time this was written) has yet to wrestle a match in the 2021-2022 season. Yet it is certain that if he does enter the Super Region V, he will be a force to be reckoned with.  3rd at last year's NCAA DII tournament, he isn't flashy but he's gotten the job done against the competition.  A 3-1 win over Noah Ryan of St. Cloud State, a 3-2 win over Matt Kaylor of Mary and a 6-4 win over Dan Bishop of Augustana (S.D.) 

Even with Ryg absent, this is still going to be a very tough bracket. Ryan himself was 7th at last year's NCAA DII tournament.  He owns a 3-1 win over Rodsean Graham of UW-Parkside, a 6-3 win over Kaylor and a 3-1 win over Bishop. 

Rodsean has been able to defeat Kaylor 5-2, as well as Placide 3-2, but has struggled with Bishop dropping 4-2 and 4-3 decisions. 

Kaylor owns a 3:46 fall over Placide, and has split with Bishop, owning a 5-2 victory Vs a 3-1 sudden victory loss. 

HWT 

If you're looking for a guarantee in Super Region V, this is where you'll likely find it.  Kam Teacher of St. Cloud State (as of the time this was written) is undefeated with NCAA DII finishes thus far of runner up in 2018, third place in 2019 & Champion in 2021.  I will credit Steven Hajas of Augustana (S.D.) who was 3rd in last year's DII"s for always keeping it close.  He's thus far taken Teacher to 5-4 & 6-5 decisions.   However, it is not a given that Hajas will be Teacher's opponent in the finals.  While he has pinned Will Jordan of Minot State, Jordan also owns a 2-0 victory over him.  Gerardo James of Mary also kept it close with Hajas in a 5-4 loss. 

Darrell Mason of MSU-Mankato will also be in the hunt with a 5-3 victory over Jordan and a 15-6 major decision over James.   

Both Jordan and James were NCAA DII qualifiers in 2019.  They have split with one another, Jordan winning a 5-1 match and James winning a 3-2 match. 

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There's just not easy way about it.  Placing top 3 in any of these weight classes is mission that not even Dan Briggs would feel comfortable taking. The bright side is, I think every team in Super Region V stands a chance of at least qualifying one wrestler.