Here's where things are going to get really interesting. 149 lbs is already an insane weight. Paniro Johnson of Iowa State upsetting Austin Gomez of Wisconsin & then Gomez upsetting Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell. We've already seen a ton of craziness & trust me, CKLV is going to take it to a whole new level.
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Ranking & Name
School Name
Previous CKLV Finishes
What I would Seed
It's surreal to think that Diakomihalis is entering CKLV with a losing record, but nevertheless the returning champ is still ranked #1 in the country & is the favorite to once again win a title. It'll be a challenge though. From the quarters on through, he'll have to earn his way back to the top of the podium. There are a lot of guys here that feel if Gomez can do it, they can too. Diakomihalis has a huge target painted on his back & some of the sharpest darts in collegiate wrestling looking to hit it with a bullseye.
*2 Ohio State's Sammy Sasso was a runner-up here to Diakomihalis last season. He's lost to the Big Red by similar scores (6-3 & 6-2) twice thus far as he looks to improve his performance against him. He too will be challenged from the quarters on through. Maybe even more so as he's already suffered an upset this season & against many of these opponents he's had some very close matches.
I give *3 to Jonathan Millner of Appalachian State. Even though he's 1-2 Vs Arizona State's Kyle Parco, he did win their most recent meeting & he's currently ranked one spot higher. In regards to Sasso, he gave the Buckeye a very close 5-4 match. Parco himself has also given Sasso some scares. A 5-1 tiebreaker, he also gave him a wild 11-10 contest.
*5 going with Yahya Thomas of Northwestern. A wrestler who at times looks as if he can beat absolutely anyone. He was 4th here a year ago as he's taken Sasso to both a 6-4 as well a a 5-4 tiebreaker.
I give *6 to Dom Demas of Cal Poly, who I have to conclude is one of the wrestlers I am most excited to see this tournament. An All American in 2019 with an overall varsity record of 82-19, speaking specifically to collegiate wrestling, he fell from grace over the past couple of seasons. He's kinda been forgotten about and looked over by many. Now he's at a new school, seems to be much happier and it'll be fun to see how that translates on the mat. For record, the last he met with Diakomihalis, it was a 5-1 decision for the Big Red.
I feel a lot of stock is being put into Caleb Henson's recent 5-3 upset over Sasso, hence why he has a pretty respectable ranking & why I gave him the *7 seed. I'll be anxious to see if he can string a bunch of high quality wins together all in a row. R1 may be smooth enough, but it's rough seas by R2, a storm by the quarters & a tsunami if he makes it to the semis.
Some may not like how I would seed *8, *9 & *10, but I have my reasons. I don't always agree with the rankings & that is the case here. I feel Chance Lamer of Michigan is underrated at this time & I put Alec Hagan of Ohio above Colin Realbuto of Northern Iowa for two distinct reasons. He gave Millner a much better match than Realbuto did. While Realbuto lost 4-0, Hagan put up a much better fight in a 7-4 loss. Hagan also owns a 10-2 major decision over the Panther. To me that head to head result speaks volumes over whatever the rankings may say.
At *11 we have Kody Komara of Kent State who I'm never quite sure what to make of. He's 1-7 against Hagan & as the wrestling Gods seem to love this Bobcat Vs Golden Flash feud we're probably gonna see it at some point this tournament. He's been pinned by Millner, nearly teched by Parco, & Thomas defeated him 6-1 as Demas owns a 6-3 victory. On paper a top 12 finish is about where he ends up, but on the mat this guy has an ability to pull rabbits out of hats. He could very well end up top 8.
*12 I give to Dylan Martinez of Air Force. This guys inconsistency & roller coaster ride of results is going to see him go in and out of the rankings the rest of the season. A 9-3 victory over Komara helps to illustrate what he's capable of. He could very well be in the fight for a top 8 showing & he could very well be eliminated long before we get to that point. That's just the type of wrestler he is.
Some might feel that Isaiah Delgado of Utah Valley should have the seed & Martinez should be left out, but I have two responses to that. If the rankings went beyond 33, Martinez would most likely show up as #34. Secondly Martinez has competed against the competition here, Delgado hasn't. Of the other 13 wrestlers I have listed, Delgado has yet to face a single one of them. I feel Martinez's 9-3 win over Komara & the fact that he's given Colin Realbuto both 6-3 & 5-4 matches trumps the #33 ranking.
Lastly I'm gonna throw in a word for Oregon State's Triston Lara. It's been an unfortunate series of misfortunes for the Beaver, but if by any miracle he's finally healthy & at 100%, he could turn out to be a very dangerous wrestler. That is of course, if he even enters this tournament. To let you know what a healthy Lara is capable of, he owns a 9-4 victory over Parco.
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