 |
| #1 Zeth Brower Lander |
An NCAA Division II champion last season, between last year and now he has a record of 30-1, with that one loss being by injury default. Will he be challenged here at the Midwest Classic? Maybe. What I will say is that winning a title here will be nearly as rough of a road as winning a national title. While Brower has manhandled John Carayiannis by scores of 13-0 & 15-2, both Christian Small & Ethan Leake haven given him closer matches.
 |
| #3 Christian Small King |
If anyone can challenge Brower for a title here, I think Christian Small is it. An All American in 2021, he was one match shy of earning another AA last year. He was also 6th in last year's Midwest Classic championships. Giving Brower a 2-0 match, he's been pretty dominant against the other competition. He owns tech falls over both Joel Cawoski & Taylor Jokerst & he nearly teched Caleb Morris 14-3. He also owns a 3:56 fall over Grayston DiBlasi. His closer matches have been a 4-1 decision over Peter Kuster & Tate Murty took him to a 5-4 decision.
 |
| #5 Peter Kuster Drury |
Another challenger here will be three time NCAA DII qualifier, 6th in the nation last season, Peter Kuster. A runner-up in 2019 & 7th this past season, Kuster will be looking for his third Midwest Classic medal. Believe it or not, he has wrestled Nate Keim a total of 12 times! He leads the series 9 matches to 3. Owning three decisions against Taylor Jokerst, he has a tech over Joel Cawoski, a fall over John Carayiannis, and he's beaten both Kolton Roth & Caleb Morris by 5-3 decisions.
 |
| #7 Tate Murty Upper Iowa |
As to challenging for the Midwest Classic title, I would also give Tate Murty a shot. As mentioned he took Christian Small to the wire in a 5-4 loss, so the idea of him sneaking his way into the finals is not that much of a stretch. The two time NCAA DII qualifier who was 6th in the nation in 2021 has three dominating victories over Kolton Roth, 19-8, 16-0 & 9-2. He also owns an 11-0 major over Laken Boese, a 6-0 decision over Cayden Henschel & a 3:00 fall over Ethan Leake.
 |
| #6 John Carayiannis Belmont Abbey |
I cannot seeing him beating Zeth Brower or Christian Small, but this is where the parity of wrestling & the oddness of how it sometimes turns out comes into play. I can see him finishing within the top three. 8th in the NCAA Division II championships last season, he owns a 5-1 win over Brody Norman.
 |
| #3 (At 133 lbs) Breyden Bailey Indianapolis |
An NCAA DII qualifier last year at 133 lbs, the way I understand it, with two matches at 141 lbs, despite being ranked at 133, he will be competing at 141 for this tournament. He's competed at 141 before, but hasn't faced any of the top competition that he'll face here. At this point it's difficult to try and predict how he'll do, but soothsaying he'll be in the hunt for a top 8 finish.
 |
| #9 Caleb Morris Pittsburgh-Johnstown |
An NCAA Division II qualifier, Caleb Morris marks another talented wrestler who will contend for top 8 position here at the Midwest Classic. He completely owned Joel Cawoski the first time they met 18-1 technical fall, but there other two matches were much close in 5-1 & 5-3 scores.
 |
| #10 Joel Cawoski Seton Hill |
Another NCAA DII qualifier, if anyone is hungry to for a place on the award stand at the Midwest Classic, it is Joel Cawoski. In both 2019 & last season, he finished one match shy of earning a medal. Among his notable wins Vs the competition he has a 3-2 victory over Sean Johnson, a 10-3 victory over Gavin Weaver & a 5-3 victory over Laken Boese.
Laiken Boese doesn't have any wins over the top competition he'll face here, but what he does have are some very close losses. Along with a good ranking, this indicates that he'll be a contender for a top eight finish.
An NCAA DII qualifier last season, Ethan Leake will be among the warriors fighting for top 8 spot on the award stand. Among his victories of note, a 6-4 s.v. over Grayston DiBlasi & a 4-2 victory over Laken Boese.
Grayston DiBlasi finished one match shy of earning NCAA DII All American honors last season. A 6:28 fall over Tate Murty, I'll say about him what I've said about all DiBlasi's. The way the guy wrestles, his unorthodox style could potentially pose a threat to anyone he is on the mat with.
It's rather crazy that you can finish one match shy of being an All American last year & still end up ranked outside of the top 12 not quite two months into the season. Brody Norman will contend for a place on the award stand. He has sudden victories over both Nate Keim & Taylor Jokerst.
An NCAA Division II qualifier in 2019, Taylor Jokerst finished one match shy of earning a medal here last season. At this point it's safe to say he'll be seeded outside of the top 8 & it'll be questionable as to whether he's seeded within the top 12. Regardless, he'll have to pull off a few upsets in order to make the award stand. Among his victories a 6-5 decision of Nate Keim, a 4-3 decision over Grayston DiBlasi & most impressive a 14-1 major over Cayden Henschel.
Here's a guy that interest me most. Between rankings & head to head results, he's gonna have a rough road ahead of him in order to finish within the top 8 this tournament. Here's the thing though. He owns three wins over Peter Kuster. Some might say that if you wrestle someone 12 times, at this level, they're bound to at least win a couple. Perhaps that is the case but he also owns a 3-2 victory over Taylor Jokerst & 12-3 major over John Carayiannis. He's also already a two time Midwest Classic place-winner. 8th in 2019, he was runner-up last season. Doesn't it blow your mind that if everyone who can show up does show up that last year's runner-up will potentially be seeded outside of the top 12. I said this bracket would be insanely tough, I meant it.
Sean Johnson was 5th here a year ago. Among his notable wins a 2-1 victory over Caleb Morris, a 10-6 decision of Joel Cawoski, a 9-3 victory over John Carayiannis & a 4:12 fall over Kolton Roth.
Kolton Roth has yet to wrestle a match this season, but if he does enter the Midwest Classic, we can bet on him as a contender to be top 12/top 8. 12-6 & 8-7 wins over Tate Murty, he's defeated Cayden Henschel 10-8 & Laken Boese 8-6.
Currently 11-0 on the season, Cayden Henschel is looking good so far in 22'-23'. He'll have to upset his way to a top 8 finish here at the Midwest Classic, but he's already shown what he can do with a victory over Kolton Roth & he's defeated Laken Boese twice.
I would love to see Kentucky Wesleyan crown a Midwest Classic place-winner & as loaded as this bracket is, I'm giving Gabe Adams a outsider's shot. He would have to wrestle his rear off & pull off some victories that just don't seem possible at the moment but hey, we compete on the mat, not on paper.
 |
| #11 Laken Boese Mary |
Laiken Boese doesn't have any wins over the top competition he'll face here, but what he does have are some very close losses. Along with a good ranking, this indicates that he'll be a contender for a top eight finish.
 |
| #12 Ethan Leake Chadron State |
An NCAA DII qualifier last season, Ethan Leake will be among the warriors fighting for top 8 spot on the award stand. Among his victories of note, a 6-4 s.v. over Grayston DiBlasi & a 4-2 victory over Laken Boese.
 |
| #13 Grayston DiBlasi Colorado School of Mines |
Grayston DiBlasi finished one match shy of earning NCAA DII All American honors last season. A 6:28 fall over Tate Murty, I'll say about him what I've said about all DiBlasi's. The way the guy wrestles, his unorthodox style could potentially pose a threat to anyone he is on the mat with.
 |
| #14 Brody Norman McKendree |
It's rather crazy that you can finish one match shy of being an All American last year & still end up ranked outside of the top 12 not quite two months into the season. Brody Norman will contend for a place on the award stand. He has sudden victories over both Nate Keim & Taylor Jokerst.
 |
| #15 Taylor Jokerst Maryville |
An NCAA Division II qualifier in 2019, Taylor Jokerst finished one match shy of earning a medal here last season. At this point it's safe to say he'll be seeded outside of the top 8 & it'll be questionable as to whether he's seeded within the top 12. Regardless, he'll have to pull off a few upsets in order to make the award stand. Among his victories a 6-5 decision of Nate Keim, a 4-3 decision over Grayston DiBlasi & most impressive a 14-1 major over Cayden Henschel.
 |
| #16 Nate Keim Central Oklahoma |
Here's a guy that interest me most. Between rankings & head to head results, he's gonna have a rough road ahead of him in order to finish within the top 8 this tournament. Here's the thing though. He owns three wins over Peter Kuster. Some might say that if you wrestle someone 12 times, at this level, they're bound to at least win a couple. Perhaps that is the case but he also owns a 3-2 victory over Taylor Jokerst & 12-3 major over John Carayiannis. He's also already a two time Midwest Classic place-winner. 8th in 2019, he was runner-up last season. Doesn't it blow your mind that if everyone who can show up does show up that last year's runner-up will potentially be seeded outside of the top 12. I said this bracket would be insanely tough, I meant it.
 |
| #17 Sean Johnson American International |
Sean Johnson was 5th here a year ago. Among his notable wins a 2-1 victory over Caleb Morris, a 10-6 decision of Joel Cawoski, a 9-3 victory over John Carayiannis & a 4:12 fall over Kolton Roth.
 |
| #18 Kolton Roth Northern State |
Kolton Roth has yet to wrestle a match this season, but if he does enter the Midwest Classic, we can bet on him as a contender to be top 12/top 8. 12-6 & 8-7 wins over Tate Murty, he's defeated Cayden Henschel 10-8 & Laken Boese 8-6.
 |
| #19 Cayden Henschel UW-Parkside |
Currently 11-0 on the season, Cayden Henschel is looking good so far in 22'-23'. He'll have to upset his way to a top 8 finish here at the Midwest Classic, but he's already shown what he can do with a victory over Kolton Roth & he's defeated Laken Boese twice.
 |
| #20 Gabe Adams Kentucky Wesleyan |
I would love to see Kentucky Wesleyan crown a Midwest Classic place-winner & as loaded as this bracket is, I'm giving Gabe Adams a outsider's shot. He would have to wrestle his rear off & pull off some victories that just don't seem possible at the moment but hey, we compete on the mat, not on paper.
 |
| U.R. Gavin Weaver Ashland |
Is there anyone currently unranked who I think could potentially make his way into the top 12 here? It's looney to think with 18 ranked wrestlers competing that there would be, but there is. I can see Ashland's Gavin Weaver, who owns an impressive 7-0 victory over Caleb Morris pulling off a few upsets.
No comments:
Post a Comment