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| Keegan Davis Oregon State |
It never quite came together for Keegan Davis during the post season, but a couple of times when it was at the Midlands. Placing 7th as a junior, it was his senior season where he really shined on the mat. Taking a 3rd place finish, he knocked off four time All American & NCAA champion Derek St John of Iowa 9-6 in the consolation semi-finals.
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| Mike Kelly Iowa |
In & out of the Hawkeye lineup his entire career while battling injuries, Mike Kelly didn't quite have the career that he probably should have. Nevertheless he still had some great moments. He really shined at the Midlands tournament in both his freshman & senior seasons. As a freshman he took a 5th place finish & then as a senior took 3rd.
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| Lee Munster Northwestern |
There are so many examples in collegiate wrestling of wrestlers who otherwise would have had careers everyone remembers had it not been for injuries. While classless acts of poor sportsmanship take a close second, there's nothing I hate more in this sport than knowing someone's career was cut short because of injuries. Gawd I hate injuries with a passion. Lee Munster's career was hampered & prematurely ended because of injuries. Had he stayed healthy, who knows what would have happened? What I do know, is that a freshman Lee Munster won the Midlands title. Not only did he win it, but he scored a decisive 7-3 victory over Iowa's Ethen Lofthouse in the finals. Munster also placed 5th the Midlands as a sophomore.
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| Christian Boley Maryland |
Sometimes it is as simple as this is an extremely tough sport & it is extraordinarily challenging to be one of the top 8 by season's end. It sometimes comes down to nothing more than that. Maryland's Christian Boley came close a couple of times, but never did make the award stand at the NCAA tournament. Nevertheless I'd argue that he still had an outstanding career as a Terrapin & his defining moments were at the Midlands. 3rd as a sophomore at the 2011 championships, he won the 2013 Midlands as a senior, defeating Iowa multiple time All American Nathan Burak 3-2 in the process.
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Now, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, if I still haven't convinced you that there is so much more to collegiate wrestling than the NCAA tournament, let me present to you some of the strongest evidence I have. There are careers worth celebrating & recognizing even if they didn't produce All American results & here some of the strongest examples.
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| Brent Haynes Missouri |
To this day I still don't know how in the world Brent Haynes ended his career without an All American honor, but what I do know is that you can't look at his career & not be impressed with it. Midlands, CKLV, Southern Scuffle, this guy collected medals from them all. Not only did he collect those medals, he often beat some really good wrestlers to earn them. I guess the best way to describe Haynes is to say that he had an on and off switch. When that switch was turned to on, he was a force to be reckoned with.
At the Midlands as a freshman, he nearly majored Iowa All American Luke Lofthouse 7-1. He then dismantled Lehigh All American Joe Kennedy 16-5 for 7th. Earning a 4th place finish as a sophomore, this time he pinned Kennedy in 1:39.
Missouri switched from the Midlands to the Southern Scuffle for Haynes' junior & senior seasons, & he was even more impressive in Chattanooga that what he had been in Evanston! Winning the Scuffle title as a junior, he tech'd Indiana All American Matt Powless 15-0. He then shut out Minnesota three time All American Sonny Yohn 6-0. He would place 3rd at the Scuffle as a senior. Also 6th at CKLV as a junior, if anyone proves there is more than 3 days, I think Haynes is one of them.
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| Tanner Weatherman Iowa State |
Three years straight Tanner Weatherman dropped heartbreaking matches in the NCAA R12. Yet where he came up short at the national tournament, he did not come up short at either CKLV or the Midlands. With one of the nicest fireman's carries I've seen in collegiate wrestling, he was a two time Midlands place winner, taking 5th as a junior & 2nd as a senior. At CKLV, he was 8th-3rd-7th in his final three seasons. Ironically enough, in his senior season, in order to earn this 3rd CKLV medal, Weatherman defeated Virginia Tech's David McFadden 9-4, who in turn defeated him in the bloodround at the NCAA's.
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| Johnni DiJulius Ohio State |
I have no insider information. I am simply a fan who watched a guy compete for a number of years & from simple observation I feel that what got to Johnni DiJulius was the simple fact that he had outgrown the 133 lbs weight class. I feel that the cut had gotten to be too much for him & that it effected his performance. Unfortunately with Logan Stieber at 141, there was no way he was big enough for 149. He also suffered some injuries as well. Nevertheless, while he never did have his NCAA moment, he more than shined at CKLV a few times.
As a freshman, he finished 4th defeating North Dakota State All American Trent Sprenkle not once, but twice. He defeated the Bison by scores of 11-8 & 7-1.
As a sophomore he really shined defeating three All Americans, including a national champion in route to winning a title. Took out Rossi Bruno of Michigan 6-1 & Joe Colon of Northern Iowa 6-2, before pinning Cody Brewer of Oklahoma in only 44 seconds!!
His junior year he took 3rd, shutting out two time All American Earl Hall of Iowa State in a 9-0 major decision.
Unfortunately an injury caused him to have to medical forfeit out of the tournament as a senior, but it is safe to say for two days out of the season that happened in Vegas, they were pretty good for DiJulius!
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| Jake Sueflohn Nebraska |
In so many of the discussions we have in collegiate wrestling we often concern ourselves over who is the very best. It's not good enough that Pat Smith, Cael Sanderson, Logan Steiber & Kyle Dake have all won four NCAA titles. We have to know out of those four, who is the very best? Well if we ask ourselves who is the very best to never earn an All American honor, that is a rather subjective answer. If I absolutely had to narrow it down to one, I find it hard to argue against Jake Sueflohn of Nebraska. To this day I still don't know how he ended his career having never stepped onto the NCAA award stand. He may never have shined the final three days of the collegiate wrestling season, but he sure as hell did many times throughout the rest of the season.
As a freshman he finished 4th at CKLV, which included an 8-7 decision over two time All American Evan Henderson of North Carolina.
Sophomore season it was a 3rd place finish which included a quarter-final win over Oregon State All American Scott Sakaguchi of Oregon State & a consolation semi-final win over All American Chris Villalonga of Cornell. For 3rd place he defeated All American Cam Tessari of Ohio State.
Junior year, he was a CKLV runner-up, defeating All American Eric Grajales of Michigan 7-6.
He would miss out on what would have been his senior season due to injury, but made a come back after he was awarded a medical redshirt. In many ways looked better than ever including a 3rd place showing at the Midlands. There be pinned Rider All American B.J. Clagon in 6:47, defeated Iowa four time All American Mike Kemerer 8-7 & then majored Old Dominion All American Alex Richardson 10-1.
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| Cole Von Ohlen Air Force |
More than 3 days. I'll say it again. More than 3 days. A guy like Cole Von Ohlen is why I preach those words & why stand 100% behind them. He doesn't own any All American honors, but my gawd look at all he does own. Between CKLV & The Southern Scuffle he owns six medals and three finals appearances. I ask does one All American honor that someone else may have gotten, say 8th place, really surpass those accomplishments by that much? You may argue that it does, but in the least take into consideration what he had to do to make the Scuffle finals his senior year. In the quarter-finals he defeated future NCAA champion Drake Houdashelt 9-7. Then in the semi-finals he defeated Dylan Ness of Minnesota, who was that season's returning NCAA runner-up 10-5.
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| Nate Everhart Indiana |
Before he became a WWE superstar, Nate Everhart was first a standout for the Indiana Hoosiers. While he came up just a hair short of glory in the final three days of the season, he did not come up short his senior season in Vegas. Sin City was his place to shine as he won a CKLV title defeating both Clayton Jack of Oregon State & Matt Monteiro of Cal State Bakersfield along the way.
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More Than 3 Days!! Got a part V coming your way soon!!
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