This is going to be a fun weight class. A lot of drama waiting to unfold with each wrestler having his own story. Once again, due to how schedules were written out, I'm going with Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa & South Dakota State sending varsity to Soldier Salute & backups being sent here.
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| #2 Austin Gomez Wisconsin |
Suddenly the hunter becomes the hunted. As Austin Gomez knocked off the seeming unbeatable Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell weeks ago, others will now look to knock him off. He'll have an assortment of challengers to go through, if he is to win a Midlands title. Against the competition he owns both a 20 second fall & a 4-2 decision over Ridge Lovett. He owns 9-4 decisions over both Zach Sherman & Doug Zapf. A 1:15 fall as well as a 12-2 major over Marshall Keller.
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| Redshirt Ridge Lovett Nebraska |
You never know when or where you're going to see Redshirts, but I wouldn't be all that surprised if Ridge Lovett shows up to compete at the Midlands. And if he is indeed there, I would suspect him to be given the *2 seed. The 2022 NCAA finalist has had trouble with Gomez, but he owns victories over quite a few others. A 6-1 decision over Graham Rooks, his other victories have been close one point decisions. 4-3 over Sherman, & a 7-6 over Yahya Thomas. He too will have a target on his back.
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| #4 Kyle Parco Arizona State |
The two time All American strikes as one who will one day contend for a national title. If one day is sooner than later, he'll first want to overcome both Gomez & Lovett for a Midlands title. A 6-4 victory over Rooks, he's defeated Max Brignola 5-2, Chance Lamer 4-1, Zapf 11-5 & Keller 5-1.
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| #7 Yahya Thomas Northwestern |
This is his house, his tournament & this will be his final attempt to win a Midlands title. 7th in 2017 & 3rd in 2018, Yahya Thomas actually failed to earn a third medal at the 2019 Midlands. That probably doesn't sit too well with the Wildcat & if you watched him compete at the 2021 NCAA championships, you know how good this guy can be when he sets his mind to it. To give you an indication, he owns a 6-1 victory over Gomez. Among his over victories, he's defeated Rooks by an 8-4 decision, Dylan Martinez 10-2, & Caleb Tyus 16-5. Denton Spencer 8-3 & he's defeated Jarod Verkleeren three times, 10-3, 6-3 & a fall in 4:44.
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| #10 Doug Zapf Pennsylvania |
The Quaker has been in the 9-12 range for quite sometime. Just barely outside of the top 8. If he wants to get into that elite crowd, it's gonna take some big wins. To be elite, you gotta beat elite. A match shy of placing here in 2019, no doubt about it he is place-winner material. It's placing within the top 3 that will be the challenge. He has the tools. A 10-6 decision over Keller & a 7-2 decision over Tony White, are victories he has against the competition thus far.
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| #14 Zach Sherman North Carolina |
Here's a guy I'm very anxious to watch this tournament. Zach Sherman has had a history of getting used to and adjusting to new weight classes. He moved up from 133 to 141 & while it took him a while to adjust, once he did, it ended in an All American result. He moved up to 149 last season & if history repeats itself, we could see some very good results out of him this season. The Midlands has been a good tournament for him as he placed 3rd here in both 2018 & 2019. Among the competition he's defeated Zapf 2-1, Keller 12-2 & Saul Ervin 2-0. He also owns two victories over Jarod Verkleeren, 3-1 & 6-2.
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| #20 Johnny Lovett Central Michigan |
Results haven't been as rewarding as one might have hoped now that Johnny Lovett has moved down to 149 after spending three seasons at 157. He's currently batting .500 & this includes a couple of ugly losses. Nevertheless he does own a 4-1 decision over Zapf. If you're going to redeem yourself and get back on track, the Midlands would be an excellent place to do it.
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| #22 Chance Lamer Michigan |
The redshirt freshman is having himself a pretty nice year in his first varsity season as a Wolverine. He's 7-2 & he's already earned himself a top 25 ranking. He earned his first big tournament medal with a 7th place finish at CKLV. He's very capable of earning a medal here as well. He owns a 8-6 decision over Rooks.
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| #24 Jarod Verkleeren Virginia |
Here's a guy that on paper looks to be a top 12 finisher this Midlands, but on the mat could very well end up standing on the award stand. On the same hand, he could not even make it to day two. He's inconsistent, capable of upsets, yet also susceptible to loss. Most certainly never one to look over. He does own a 4-2 victory over Thomas, and he also owns a 6-4 decision over Rooks & a 6-3 decision over Spencer.
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| #26 Sam Hillegas West Virginia |
The Mountaineer will be among those gunning for a spot on the Midlands award stand. Sam Hillegas owns a 3-1 decision over Verkleeren.
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| #28 Tony White Rutgers |
Like Lamer, Tony White is another tough redshirt freshman looking to up his status & climb the ladder of rankings. He has a lot of experience to overcome this tournament if he wants a finish within the top 8, but he's a yute as Joe Pesci would call him, with the tools to do so. He owns a 10-0 major over Keller.
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| #30 Graham Rooks Indiana |
Gut instinct tells me that Graham Rooks could be a surprise of the 58th Midlands tournament. He's been around for quite some time now & in many ways he's always sorta "just been there." He's carried himself and wrestled like a top 30 wrestler. Yet by result alone, it's painfully obvious that he's capable of so much more. Most of the losses he does have against the competition have been close & believe it or not he's actually 3 and 1 overall against Thomas. He owns 3-2, 5-4 & 5-4 t.b. victories over the Wildcat. He also owns a 4-2 decision over Verkleeren. A recent title at RENO, Graham is 16-1 thus far on the season. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see him knock his way off to a top 8 finish.
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| #33 Bryant Manzona Lehigh |
Bryant Manzona has not looked like himself as of late. I'm not sure if he's wrestling with an injury or what the deal is, but so far this year, it's been a struggle for the Mountain Hawk. He's only won one match this season & that's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it, is that the one match he won was against Dom Demas. Career wise, he also owns a 7-5 victory over Iowa's Max Murin. He leaves open a list of plausibility.
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| U.R. Dylan Martinez Air Force |
In his final season as a Falcon, Dylan Martinez has already pulled off a few upsets. He looked very good at the Mountaineer Open knocking off Verkleeren 7-5 & pinning Stanford's Jaden Abas in route to a runner-up finish. Heck, he even looked pretty good finishing one match shy of a medal at CKLV. The rest of his season is gonna have to be unexpected upsets each and every time he has a rewarding outcome. That's just the type of wrestler he is. The Midlands is no different.
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| U.R. Cam Robinson Iowa State |
Iowa State has already given us glimpse after glimpse of how tough they're going to be in the future, and he's yet another preview. Redshirt freshman Cam Robinson is currently sitting on a 17-3 record. This is one heck of a loaded weight class. It'd be one heck of an accomplishment if Robinson were to get past everyone he'd have to get past in order to earn a top 8 or for that matter even a top 12 finish. Yet the other Cyclone youth doesn't seem patient for their turn, so why should he be?
You have your "outta no where" performances and then you have your "OUT OF NO WHERE" performances. You got those guys that seem to come from a town you never heard of in a part of somewhere you didn't even know existed. They come down from the hills of Appalachia and you'd be lost if you ever went looking for them. Then you have those guys that must have came from somewhere outside of this planet. Well that's what it would seem like if Marshall Keller were to upset his way to honorable mention or place-winner status. If it is that foreign and that unlikely, why do I even mention it? Because he's done it before. That's why. He came out of no where at last year's EIWA championships, to finish in 4th place.
I would imagine that the varsity position for Lehigh is still up for grabs & a solid Midlands performance would do Max Brignola a world of good. For what it's worth, he owns both a 5-3 & 31 victory over Keller.
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| U.R. Marshall Keller Princeton |
You have your "outta no where" performances and then you have your "OUT OF NO WHERE" performances. You got those guys that seem to come from a town you never heard of in a part of somewhere you didn't even know existed. They come down from the hills of Appalachia and you'd be lost if you ever went looking for them. Then you have those guys that must have came from somewhere outside of this planet. Well that's what it would seem like if Marshall Keller were to upset his way to honorable mention or place-winner status. If it is that foreign and that unlikely, why do I even mention it? Because he's done it before. That's why. He came out of no where at last year's EIWA championships, to finish in 4th place.
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| U.R. Max Brignola Lehigh |
I would imagine that the varsity position for Lehigh is still up for grabs & a solid Midlands performance would do Max Brignola a world of good. For what it's worth, he owns both a 5-3 & 31 victory over Keller.
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| U.R. Denton Spencer Virginia |
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