Luther Hill Invitational Preview (11-5-2022)

 

Believe it or not the Luther Hill Invitational has nothing to do with Luther College. Matter of fact, Luther won't even be there. It is a tournament hosted by Simpson (IA) & for the record it will be the first tournament that Quincy ever competes in.

125 lbs 

If you've been reading JT#1 for a while, you know I'm a huge Aden Reeves fan. I've known him since he was a baby. Hell, I held him when he was a baby. He lived in my Great Grandparents house & his Great Aunt dated my Grandfather for about 10 years. I'm dying to see what he can do at the NAIA level & to see him have the success I know he's capable of.  What a challenge it is for him to face teammate, #1 ranked Esco Walker the returning NAIA champion. This is the ultimate test to see exactly where Reeves stands in comparison to the rest of the NAIA. 

Duking it out for 3rd place?  I predict that'll be between Graceland's Taywone McNash & Benedictine's Charles Easterling. 

133 lbs 

Are we gonna see a final here of the NAIA's #1 & #2 ranked wrestlers?  What a treat that would be! First thing of the season!?!?  Both teams are here, so why not?  These two met for 3rd place at last year's NAIA championships, with Taylor taking an 8-2 victory over Lupton.  

141 lbs 

I have been waiting for this for a long time.  Brandon Ball of Iowa Wesleyan was an Iowa High School State champion all the way back in 2007.  Then competing for Coe College, he was 4th in the NCAA DIII championships in 2009.  It's been a minute since he last wrestled.  To really put it in perspective he was MY last high school match. I haven't wrestled an official match in nearly 19 years.  A decade and a half off the mat, can he make a comeback?  Can he go toe to toe with the likes of Jackson Wenberg of Graceland or Shea Ruffridge of Grand View?  Of the many exciting things happening in college wrestling this weekend, this is what I am most anxious about.  Above anything else, I do think he'll take a top 6 showing. 

149 lbs 

A puzzler as to why Grand View's Tanner Abbas is currently out of the rankings. The senior did not participate in the qualifiers last season, but has thus far earned two All American honors in his career. 4th in 2020 & 6th in 2021. While I don't see him having any trouble winning this tournament, I do believe his finals opponent will be Benedictine's Gino Camarca. 

157 lbs

Another #1 Vs #2 match up to look forward to?  In these types of situations sometimes wrestlers of the same team will wrestle one another & other times it's a double forfeit.  It's certain though that if they both enter, they both make the finals. The battle for bronze?  Jalon Strong of Waldorf & Brent Ward of Iowa Wesleyan is my prediction. 

165 lbs 

If you haven't figured out the pattern yet, Grand View, like they do everywhere else is going to completely dominate this tournament. Thus far Marty Margolis has been 3rd & 2nd in the NAIA. Here he'll cake walk through the bracket. His finals opponent? My guess is Invi Bella of Graceland. 

174 lbs 

Finishing 3rd in the NAIA last season for Baker, Isaiah Luellen has transferred to Grand View & in his first mission for Vikings he looks to win the Luther Hill Invitational. Likely finals opponent teammate Alex Reynolds & I'm picking Iowa Wesleyan's Caelen Shannon to take 3rd. 

184 lbs 

Been waiting patiently to see if Ben Provisor will eventually make the kind of splash collegiately that he has made internationally.  Here is as good of a place to start as any. If he can hang with teammate Ben Lee, who has thus far been 3rd & 2nd in the NAIA, we'll have our answer to that question. 

197 lbs

Two time NAIA All American Owen Braungardt will own this weight class. Likely finals opponent? John Schuttler of Graceland. 

HWT 

Looks to be an all Grand View final & for that matter I wouldn't be all that surprised if we didn't end up seeing an all Iowa Wesleyan consolation final. 


=== 

Short, sweet and to the point, my thoughts on the Luther Hill Invite! 

Falcon Invite Preview (11-5-2022)

 

May I say once again how cool I think it is that a program still within its infancy host a huge in-season tournament full of great teams and great talent. It takes a tremendous amount of work to host a tournament with 19 programs attending. The dedication and commitment Friends has to their wrestling program & to NAIA wrestling in general is admirable. Hopefully contagious as well.  Of the many things to be excited about, this will be our first look at both Health Sciences & Pharmacy out of St. Louis and Jarvis Christian out of Texas.  Also competing here among the NAIA competition, DIII Schreiner & DII Newman. 

For NAIA rankings used, I referred to the preseason Coaches Rankings.  For NCAA DII rankings, I referred to wrestlestat. 

125 lbs 

Ooh, a lot of talent here at 125 lbs. Eight NAIA ranked wrestlers and one NCAA DII.  How will things shape up? My bet on a final here would be between Doane's Daniel Vargas who has finished 5th & 6th in the NAIA the past two seasons and Johnathan Ortegon of Wayland Baptist who has twice finished R12.  Harley Williamson of York (NE) who I was almost 100% would NOT be back this season, looks to be a good candidate for the bronze medal, but take a look for yourself, he'll have plenty of challenge.  This will be a weight class worth placing in the top eight. Of those who probably won't be seeded to do so, but who could do so Saint Mary's Ethan Woods & York's (NE) Dezmond McSellers. 

133 lbs 

  The polar opposite of 125 lbs, there are no ranked wrestlers at 133 for the Falcon Invite. Nevertheless there is still some quality talent here. Hold a gun to my head and say, "pick a champ!" I think I'll go with Alex Pena of Wayland Baptist. As to how the rest of this bracket pans out? I do think I've selected four other wrestlers who will contend for a top eight showing.  Who to watch here may very well be Jacob Rymer of Friends. If the Falcons are going to have a hero at their own invite, Rymer will be it. 

141 lbs 

As he attempts to win his fourth NAIA title this season, Baagii Boldmaa of Doane is bound to win everything else along the way too. His likely finals opponent? I'd say Hartwell Taylor of Saint Mary, although I think both Jayce Cunha of Embry Riddle & Edrich Nortje of Hastings will be gunning to make names for themselves.  A lot depends on seeding.  I would also look for a top 8 showing out of Bethany's Kaden Goff. 

149 lbs 

A very competitive weight class where you will have to earn a top 8 placing. I would say if the rankings have anything to do with it, that our first six seeds should be pretty straight forward with five other candidates duking it out for spots #7 & #8.  The R12 matches will be of most interest. 

Of all the brackets at the Friends Invitational, I think his one has the potential to be won by the lowest seed. I can't see Beau Blackham being seeded anything higher that #5, but I can see him upsetting his way to a championship.  He was 8th in the NAIA championships all the way back in 2020 & is due to find the spark that lit the fire three seasons ago. Perhaps here is where that fire will start.  

157 lbs 

I'm anxious to see how this one turns out. Probably looking at a final between Doane's Chinges Tsermaa & Briar Cliff's Ben Peters.  Texas Wesleyan's Austin Loza a strong candidate for 3rd, although we have some unranked wrestlers here in both NAIA & NCAA DII all looking to have good showings as well. 

165 lbs 

I'm not even sure where to start with this one.  What I can tell you is that if everyone I have listed in the photo above shows up, this is going to be a lot of fun to watch.  Call him Seth or call him Cody, I'm not exactly sure what is up with Dixon from Wayland Baptist right now. 8th in the NAIA's last season, he is not currently listed in the rankings. My first thought was that he must NOT be back this year, but look at their current 22'-23' roster & sure enough he's listed. If he enters this tournament I would think he's a good candidate for the #1 seed. 

I think we're going to see some really good things out of Keller Rock of Embry Riddle this season. He nearly made All American status last season & I think he'll be a man on a mission.  I have to ask if a picture of Braeden Baller of Texas Wesleyan exist. Is he Lorenzo Music? Does he refuse to be photographed or something. I couldn't find a picture of him when I was doing the Texas Wesleyan preview either. 

I think the guys to really watch in the bracket that could really open up some eyes are William Penn's Matheson Meade & Newman's Kameron Frame.  Meade failed to place at Heart of America last season after looking pretty good up until that point.  Frame a three time NCAA DII qualifier, like Meade wrestled well all season, but fell apart at the qualifier.  I feel that both are getting slapped a little harder in the face than what they deserve by being kept out of the rankings. Both will show that they belong. Matter of fact, I wouldn't put it past Frame to win this tournament. 

NOTE - #22 Kaleb Bigelow of Dakota Wesleyan could be participating in this tournament as well. I was not aware initially that Dakota Wesleyan would be here. He's most certainly a place-winner candidate. 

174 lbs 

I can see a lot of interesting things happening in this weight. Having attended Northwestern (IA), I of course want to see Jakob Francken-Small do well & hope to see him in the finals against Mike Scarponi of Doane. However, he'll have an extremely tough matchup with William Penn's Makail Stanley if the seedings go as I predict.  I tell you the guy I'm really anxious to watch here is Clay Perry of Missouri Baptist. He was an NCWA champion for Central Florida last season & I'm anxious to see him against the NAIA as well as NCAA DII field. Central Florida wants compared & often favorably against the field, so I'm anxious to see if they put up or shut up.  

184 lbs 

I think Luke Jennes has the ability to be an All American this season & what a way to start of the season if he were able to win the Falcon Invite. He'll have some stiff competition from three other top 25 NAIA wrestlers & from some outside of the rankings as well.  William Penn's Jesse Schwery's inconsistency is what is currently keeping him out of the rankings. A good showing here could possibly get him into the rankings & do wonders for his confidence. 

197 lbs 

The other weight class where you can be pretty confident in who will be the champion & it just so happens that he too competes for Doane.  4th in the nation last season & currently ranked #2 in the NAIA, I don't see much standing in the way of Bradley Antesburger.   Now what I can see is a good match between Austin Carter of Saint Mary & DeAndre Rucker of Texas Wesleyan if that is to happen. I also think that Ivan Balavage of Newman will be a place-winner here as well. 

HWT 

We may very well see another Antesburger win a title & it may very well be in the finals against another wrestler from Doane.  Brandon Antesburger & Sam Peterson are likely to get seeds #1 & #2, and live up to them.  Tre Mason of Bethany was 4th here last season & I'm anxious to see how he does this year. Emmett Bivens of Texas Wesleyan is another I expect to see place in the top 8. 

The Patriot Open Preview (11-5-2022)

 

The fact I love most about NAIA wrestling is there is no waiting around. There is no easing into the season. First tournaments of the year, we're going to see some of the top wrestlers in the nation going at it. Look at it as an advantage or a disadvantage wrestlers see one another multiple times throughout the season. NAIA All Americans & NAIA qualifiers in every weight class. 

Picture guide: Name, School, What I would personally seed the wrestler for this tournament.  ****IT IS NOT THEIR RANKING**** (I decided to do it this way since there are no current NAIA rankings at the moment & it helps to visualize my position on seeds)

125 lbs 

Holy cow is there a ton of talent in this potential bracket. We're talking three All Americans, a total of five All American awards among them. Seven returning NAIA qualifiers. You place in the top eight here buddy boy, you've earned it. The obvious #1 seed here is two time NAIA finalist Brandon Orum of Life who after winning an NAIA title in 2021, finished at the NAIA runner-up last season.  Our #2 seed? Two time NAIA All American Isaac Crowell of Southeastern who was 5th this past season after taking 7th in 2021.  That is our probable final although I do see a good semi between Crowell & who I would give the #3 see Dennis McNeal of Brewton Parker. McNeal was 7th in the NAIA championships last season.  Rounding out the rest of our seeds, I'd give #4 to home crowd favorite Austin Franco who finished one match shy of NAIA All American after spending the latter half of the season ranked 8th.  I give Anthony Hughes of Marian the #5 seed over Nathan Orum of Indiana Tech as Hughes was ranked higher by season's end last year. Lastly an NAIA qualifier I give Shay Horton of Thomas More the #7 seed over Alex Slattman of Lourdes, one of the better wrestlers in the nation to not qualify for the NAIA's. 

133 lbs does not have a picture. I accidentally posted Matt as Conner & Conner as Matt. When I tried to fix this, my computer went haywire & when I came back the picture had been deleted.  Son of a gun....

All summer and most of this fall I have been going on and on about the possibility of an NAIA final between brothers Matt & Conner Gimson of Indiana Tech. As noted 1,000 times before, if this happens it'll not only be the first time, it'll probably be the only time it ever happens. I'm talking 10,000,000 years from now when the sun has engulfed the Earth into a cloud of smoke, ash and debris, it'll still be the only time it ever happened.  Low and behold we could get a glimpse of it here. Now are the two going to wrestle if they should both make the finals of the Patriot Open?  I'm gonna guess a double forfeit, but who knows?  Matt thus far has won two NAIA titles as Conner has finished 8th & 3rd thus far in his career.

Either Gimson getting knocked off in route to the finals? I'd place 99.9% on no.  What I do think though is that Gage Hudson 8th in the nation in 2021, who did not qualify for the NAIA's will plow through everyone in this bracket whose last name isn't Gimson. The one exception maybe Nate Becker of Lindsey Wilson, my pick to finish 4th. 

141 lbs 

Another loaded bracket, full of talent.  I'm gonna give the #1 seed to Julian Hernandez of Life & the #2 to Bryce Nickel of Cumberlands, but what a magnificent final this will be. Last season two time All American Nickel edged Hernandez in the dual in sudden victory. Then at the NAIA championships, for 5th place, it was Hernandez who edged Nickel in a tiebreaker.  Kyle Kantola of Indiana Tech, 8th in the nation last season, is our obvious #3 seed.  Just slightly behind him, R12 finisher Kael Brisker of Southeastern at #4. I'd give Marian's Logan Wager the #5 seed as he was a qualifier within the rankings & the #6 to Patrick Gould, a qualifier for Keiser.  Is there someone in this bracket who could potentially be the monkey wrench? I'll give a maybe to Montreat's Ben Hafsia, who may not beat any of the other six listed necessarily, but who I can see placing in the top 8. 

149 lbs 

My gawd, from top to bottom this might as well be the NAIA championships. Among the field we have an NAIA championship, an NAIA runner-up & altogether four All Americans, with six All American honors. In the words of Ben Stein, "Wow!" 

As to the #1 seed, I'd go with two time NAIA runner-up Ryan Moore of Thomas More. The #2 seed Brevin Balmaceda of Life who was 3rd at last year's NAIA championships. #3, Andreus Bond of Southeastern an NAIA champion from 2021, who was 4th last season. #4 Sal Silva of Southeastern, 5th in the NAIA championships, who was also 5th at RENO. #6 Chasen Brown of Cumberlands, a two time NAIA qualifier.  As to seeds #7, #8 & #9?  Not 100% sure how I'd wrap those up exactly, but I do know they'd go to Corey Cavanaugh of Indiana Tech, Landon Chambers of Montreat & Seth Johnson of Marian regardless of what order I put them in. 

Now imagine if you will....

Our potential semi-finals...

More vs Silva
Balmaceda Vs Bond 

This is going to be good. 

157 lbs 

This weight class interest me for a variety of reasons. First and foremost the #1 seed here has to go to Jack Bass of Life. A two time All American, Bass was 5th in the NAIA in 2021, earning runner-up honors last season.  I would give the #2 seed to Indiana Tech's Nate (why I wrote Nick above I have no idea) Wheeler. Wheeler spent a majority of last season ranked #1 in the country as he also entered the NAIA's the #1 seed. Unfortunately things fell apart for him & he finished one match shy of All American honors.  Very anxious to see how he fares in this tournament.  Before he would potentially meet Bass in the finals, he would have a good challenge out of another R12 wrestler from last season, Taquel Young of Montreat, who I have picked for the #3 seed.  #4 I give to two time NAIA qualifier O'Brien Black of Cumberlands, with the #5 seed going to Steve Villalobos of Life & the #6 seed going to Trace Braun of Southeastern.  Now as I say this, I'm anxious to see how Braun shapes up this tournament. With NAIA champ brother Gage also returning, I visualize Braun making vast improvement. Nothing more than a premonition. We'll see if the gut is right. 

165 lbs 

Here we really get to test the NAIA against NCAA DI. Bellarmine being the sole DI team competing in the Patriot Open.Their best wrestler, Devan Hendricks, who among his victories last season, SOCON champion R.J. Mosley of Gardner Webb.  Now we see how he fares against some of the top NAIA competition. I give the #2 seed here to Elliott Rodgers of Marian, who was 6th in the NAIA last season. The #3 seed to Wyatt Kirkham a two time NAIA qualifier & the #4 seed to another two time NAIA qualifier Weston Milnes of Cumberlands. The difference here? Kirkham ended the season ranked higher than Milnes. Giving the #5 seed to Christian Richer of Central Baptist, as I see #6, #7 & #8 being divided up by who I consider to be some of the best in the NAIA yet to qualify for the national tournament.  Easton Giffin of Montreat, Kailan Keith of Thomas More & Mitchell Thompson of Truett-McConnell. 

*NOTE* - David Rubio wrestles for Southeastern now doesn't he! I even noted it when I did my preview for Southeastern this year. Yet when I was analyzing the weights, I forgot that he was no longer at Corban. His transfer slipped my mind.  Please forgive me.  In this case, I'd actually put Rubio, who was 5th in the NAIA at the #2 seed, sliding everyone else down one spot.  A rematch of last year's fifth place match in the semis to look forward to! 

174 lbs 

The drama continues to unfold at 174 lbs.  I'm going with Stephen Kelle of Southeastern as our #1 seed & if he's able to maintain it, I have absolutely no objection if he ends up being named wrestler of the tournament.  Our #2 & #3 seeds go to two wrestlers I would imagine are bound and determined to redeem themselves after disappointing ends to their seasons last year. Life's Asher Eichert was an NAIA runner-up in 2021, but finished one match shy of All American last season. Noah Clary of Lourdes, 8th in 2021, was also one match shy of All American last season. For the record, he also finished one match shy in 2020.  #4 I'd go with two time NAIA qualifier Jarod Swank & wrapping up #5 & #6 Hunter Gasper of Indiana Tech & Isaiah Casto of WVU Tech. 

184 lbs 

Ain't nobody touching two time NAIA champion Eric Vermillion of Indiana Tech. Sure shot guarantees are few & far between in a tournament like this one, but here you could feel very safe with your bet.  #2 seed I'll give to Lucas DeSilva of Brewton Parker, 6th in the nation last season.  #3 & #4 seeds going to NAIA qualifiers Harold Gilmore of Cumberlands & Will Speight of Lourdes. 

197 lbs

Lindsey Wilson's Trevor Lawson is not only this season, but in the recent history of NAIA wrestling, one of the best wrestlers yet to win a national title.  He's been 3rd-2nd-3rd the last three NAIA championships. If he is to win a national title this season, he'll have to defeat one of the NAIA's very best, Zane Lanham who won the NAIA title last season. (He was 3rd in 2021).  With so many matches to look forward to this tournament, this is certainly one of them.  A strong #3 here is Daulton Mayer of Thomas More, 7th in the NAIA last season. #4 I give to Cumberlands Gabe Jacobs, who has twice been R12 in the NAIA championships. What better place than his own home tournament to make some noise & project himself out of the top 12 and into the top 8? #5 & #6 seeds going to NAIA qualifiers Trillyon Fils Aime of Southeastern & Kyle Scott of Rochester.  #7 one of the better wrestlers in the nation yet to qualify for the NAIA's, Seth Williamson of Montreat. 

HWT

Austin Harris a former NCAA DI qualifier for Oklahoma State is now at Life.  I found this out only a few minutes ago, but had to include it as it completely changes the NAIA field at HWT.  Gage Braun returning champ has got himself a very worthy opponent.   In fact this whole bracket it loaded.  Ethan Powell of Truett McConnell, Carlos Figueroa of Lindsey Wilson & Braydon Erb of Indiana Tech.  These are who I believe will be our place-winners.  

Princeton Open Preview (11-6-2022)

 

Another open to look forward to this weekend is the Princeton Open. While not as hot and heavy as some of the other NCAA Division I tournaments, there is still plenty of interesting things that will unfold in New Jersey. 

125 lbs

Patrick Glory comes into this season with perhaps the hardest to reach goal of anyone in the entirety of collegiate wrestling. His determination is to knock off three time NCAA champion Spencer Lee of Iowa & prevent him from winning his fourth title. Now before he starts to channel the spirit of Larry Owings, he has some other tasks to complete. It starts off with a challenge from Lock Haven's Anthony Noto. A sensational freshman last season, he won an MAC title on a 31-3 record. He'll make like Meatloaf & come at Glory like a bat out of Hell. Glory should be ready. 

133 lbs

Richie Koehler of Lock Haven should enter the tournament with the #1 seed although he'll have a heck of time keeping it as well as his ranking.  Gable Strickland of Lock Haven has wrestled him to some close decisions, 4-0 & 3-2. As to Josh Jones of George Mason? The last time he met Koehler he won via technical fall 15-0. 

141 lbs 

I believe the final here will be between to talented wrestlers who are currently out of the rankings, but who both have the potential to make the rankings before season's end. I would give the edge here to Bell. 

149 lbs 

The obvious favorite here for the #1 seed & to win a title is Rider's Quinn Kinner. The real question is, who will face him in the finals? A good pick might be Princeton's Marshall Keller who really Frankensteined at last year's EIWA championships capturing a 4th place finish and NCAA qualification. Will he show us some magic here?  Two other tough competitors that will be in this bracket are George Mason's Kaden Cassidy and Lock Haven's Connor Eck. 

157 lbs 

This tournament may be taking place on a Sunday but I rest assure you when it comes to 157 lbs, it's going to be all Monday. While there is quality talent in this bracket, no one can match up with the nation's #1 wrestler head to head.  The #2 seed and likely opponent of Monday in the finals will be Ashton Eyler of Lock Haven. What I'm very excited to see is how Peter Pappas of George Mason performs. I have been unabashedly backing Pappas for a long time now. I know the kind of ability that he possess and what he is capable of.  Finally, it'll either happen or it won't.  Another tough wrestler to watch in this bracket is Rider's Jake Silverstein. 

165 lbs 

We could see a two Tiger final here at 165 lbs as both Jake Marsh & Grant Cuomo of Princeton are two of the best wrestlers that will be in this bracket. Cuomo has an NCAA qualification from 2020, but Marsh owns a 9-4 head to head decision. Looking to cancel an all Princeton final, will be Lock Haven's Avery Bassett. 

174 lbs
Logan Messer 
George Mason 

Don't have a whole heck of a lot to say about 174 lbs here, other than I think our champion will be Logan Messer of George Mason. 

184 lbs 

I believe the #1 seed will go to Hofstra's Jacob Ferreira & I am excited to see what I believe will be a final against George Mason's Kyle Davis. I would look to Nate Dugan to finish a strong 3rd. 

197 lbs 

Here's another potential final that I look forward to.  Princeton's Luke Stout against Rider's Ethan Laird. An opportunity for the Tiger to win his home open & to also advance in the rankings. Easier said than done, as Laird is a very tough wrestler.  I don't Hofstra's Trey Rogers upsetting Stout or Laird (matter of fact Laird owns a 10-4 victory over him) but if you want a strong candidate for the bronze position, here you go. 

HWT 

Princeton certainly has some talent in the room at HWT.  I'm anxious to see who the starter is by year's end. Matt Cover has thus far earned the position as well as his ranking, but Travis Stefanik didn't put on all of that weight for nothing. I can't help but think of years past to a wrestler from Indiana named Pat DeGain of Indiana. Like Stefanik he had done well at lower weight classes, but hadn't reached the pinnacle of his success yet. He decided to pack on the weight & give HWT a try. It paid off as he finished 3rd in the nation. Will history repeat itself with Stefanik? We could see a sign of it here at the Princeton open. 

With that said, he not only has Cover as well as teammate Jack DelGarbino to contend with, but he also has Lock Haven's Isaac Reid and Hofstra's Zachary Knighton-Ward.  They should be our #1 & #3 seeds, with Cover being our #2. A semi between Cover & Knighton-Ward will be good as Cover edged ZKW 3-1 the last time they two met.  Reid for the record owns a 5-2 decision of ZKW. 

Clarion Open Preview (11-6-2022)

 

Among the many opens that happen this time of year, the Clarion Open will be one full of some exciting wrestling. Wrestlers enter these tournaments with respectable rankings hoping to hold on to their high status, while other wrestlers who are either overlooked or haven't quite earned the position , look to throw them off. These are the places a nobody can become a somebody real quick. 

Once again a guide to the photos 

Ranking/Name
School Name

The place they took at this tournament last season

125 lbs 

The obvious choice for the #1 seed here is Purdue's Matt Ramos, although I can see him having to earn his title through both a tough semi-final & a tough final. #2 seed here I'll give to Drew West of Gardner-Webb over Jake Ferri of Kent State, even though Ferri is ranked and West is not.  West defeated Ferri 11-1 last time the two met & that's hard for a guy like me to overlook.  Ferri's 6-4 victory over Joe Fischer gives him the #3 seed & the fact that Fischer placed 4th to Colton Camacho's 5th here last year gives him the #4 I would think.   The semis here I think will be a lot of fun. 

133 lbs 

The last time these two met Phillippi dominated in a 12-3 major decision. I think that will be a similar result this time around too. If Phillippi isn't the best wrestler in the nation yet to All American, he's one of them. He'll show that here. As to Varndell, I think he ought to make the finals. As far as I'm concerned he should. It'll be nice seeing Edinboro with a finalist. 

141 lbs 

Cole Matthews of Pittsburgh is the #1 wrestler in the nation right now & if he enters this tournament, he will be the #1 seed. If I were him I would be taking the probable #2 seed Parker Filius of Purdue very, very seriously. Filius is a dangerous threat. Matter of fact, he already owns a 6-3 decision over Matthews. 

The obvious choices here for seeds #3 & #4 are Edinboro's Gabe Willochell & Navy's Josh Koderhandt. Filius, God bless his soul poses a danger to Matthews, but Willochell poses a danger to him. Should be a good semi-final. Should it pan out in action as it does in preview, the consolation battle between Willochell & Koderhandt should prove to be as exciting as will be the final between Matthews & Filius.  Look for Brown's Justin Bierdumpfel & Clarion's Seth Koleno to battle it out for 5th. 

149 lbs 

Considering that none of these guys have ever met yet (collegiately anyway) it is only fair to go with the rankings as far as seeding is concerned. #1 seed for Kent State MAC champion Kody Komara & a #2 seed for Pittsburgh redshirt freshman Brock McMillen.  With that noted, I wouldn't be surprised at all if we were to find out that the "Price is right" this weekend. An NCAA R12'er in 2021 & he doesn't even get the liberty of a top 33 ranking? Talk about disrespect. He could very well win this tournament. Also look for a competitive showing out of Navy's Christian Hodges. 

157 lbs 

I'll get some rebuttal for this but I would actually seed Andrew Cerniglia of Navy #1 here & I'll tell you why. He had a 6-5 head to head victory over Pittsburgh's Dazjon Casto last season & he won this tournament. If that is what ends up happening, he'll face the winner of what should prove to be an excellent semi-final between Casto & Purdue's Kendall Coleman.  While I don't see Clarion's Trevor Elfvin upsetting any of the top three here, I do think he's the 4th best wrestler in the bracket. 

165 lbs 

As to earning a top 6 placing, this is one of the more competitive weight classes. I believe our final here, which will also be our #1 & #2 seeds will be Holden Heller of Pittsburgh against R.J. Mosley of Gardner Webb.  As to how 3rd through 6th will shape up, it's difficult to tell. What I can tell you is that for what it's worth Cam Pine of Clarion wrestled Heller to a 7-5 match, where it only took Heller thirty seconds to pin Harrison Trahan of Brown. At the same time though, Trahan owns a very nice 13-8 victory over Purdue's Stoney Buell. Buell being one of two Boilermakers out to make a name for themselves this season at 165, the other being Cooper Noehre.  Last but far, far from least is Val Park of Navy. Where exactly he ends up between 3rd & 6th place is hard to say, but one place I would not predict is outside of it. 

174 lbs 

If I had to pick a champion here, I'm going with Purdue's talented Jake Null. None of these wrestlers have faced one another yet, but looking over the possibility of wrestlers who will attend this tournament, I believe those I have listed will make their way into a top 6 placing. 

184 lbs 

This will be a fun weight class.  We have two Clarion Open runner-ups returning from last season & ironically neither was at 184 lbs last season. Will Feldkamp was at 197 & Reece Heller was at 174.  I believe they will be our #1 & #2 seeds.  I'd give the #3 seed to David Key of Navy & as Jha'Quan Anderson of Gardner Webb has an NCAA qualification to his resume, I give him the #4 over Edinboro's Ethan Ducca. 

So as this plays out, we have a good quarterfinal matchup between Ducca & Anderson. The winner of that would take on Feldkamp in a semi, as the other semi would be Heller & Key.  Some good wrestlign here. 

197 lbs 

This weight class really fascinates me for a number of reasons & I am anxious to see how it unfolds. As to the seeding, I think it's fairly straight forward. 

#1 Bonaccorsi
#2 Penola
#3 Koser
#4 Bagoly
#5 Mulligan
#6 Bates

Some may switch Mulligan & Bates around since Bates won their most previous meeting 3-2, but Mulligan owns a 17-0 technical fall over Bates too. 

Now here is what really gets me....  If you study the history within this potential bracket it really helps to illustrate how much Thomas Penola of Purdue has improved throughout his career.  He has proven himself as an All American candidate, but he has losses to both Bagoly & Mulligan. Bagoly owns a 1:0 fall over him & Mulligan won a 4-2 decision.  Do I see either one of those guys upsetting him shall they meet this weekend? No, but the previous results linger in my mind. 

I think the probable final between Penola & Bonaccorsi will be a great match. Another opportunity for Purdue as a whole to show early on that they are up and coming as a team. On the flip side, Bonaccorsi was an NCAA runner-up in 2021, but one match shy of earning another medal last season. The chip on his shoulder will shine bright as well. 

Lastly I'll say that Jake Koser won this tournament last season & if he is able to secure another title with both Penola & Bonaccorsi in the bracket, he more than deserves wrestler of the week honors. 

HWT 

I tell you what, I haven't seen all of the wrestle-offs from every team yet, but from what I have seen, Dayton Pitzer's 11-0 thrashing of Jacob Slinger is the one that sticks out most. Jacob Slinger is no slouch. He has some nice victories last season & finished a nose hair from NCAA qualification. For Pitzer to just manhandle him the way he did was very impressive. Now can the true freshman currently taking a redshirt do the same to the likes of Grady Griess of Navy & Jon Spaulding of Edinboro? I hope he enters this tournament, and we get to find out. 

As for right now though, I'd give Pitzer the #3 seed, with the #1 seed going to Spaulding & the #2 seed going to Griess.  Let Ryan Catka of Navy & Slinger battle it out for 4th.