We have arrived at our final weight class of NCAA Division II wrestling. Ironically enough, it is in many ways one of the most interesting weight classes. In all weight classes we have All Americans who will be in the hunt for NCAA DII titles. We have qualifiers who will be in the hunt for All American. We have Region place-winners who will hunt for NCAA DII qualification. We have those who finished outside of a top 6 showing at Regions, who will be looking to earn one this season. Here at HWT, we have, as far as I'm concerned anyway, wrestlers who did not place at Regions that I think can contend for an NCAA DII title this season. That's how loaded HWT is. Take a look for yourself...
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| Jared Campbell Glenville State |
There should be a game show for collegiate wrestling entitled, Guess My Eligibility. The category of Jared Campbell would be the daily double. How much time does this guy have left in his career? He was at the real Notre Dame from 2018-2019 through 2021-2022, but he didn't compete in '20-'21 or '21-'22. Glenville State had him listed as a sophomore on their roster from last season. So is he competitively only a junior this season? Don't know. What I do know is that he had a fantastic season last year going 33-2. Making the finals of both the NCAA DII championships & the Midwest Classic, his only losses were to eventual champ of both Shawn Streck. Winning a Super Region III title, he was also champion at Bob Del Rosa.
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| Darrell Mason Minnesota State Mankato |
I walked up to Darrell Mason at last year's NCAA DII championships & told him that I wanted to congratulate him on a fine career of winning the '22 DII title & coming back strong to finish 3rd in '23. He said to me, "I'll be back next year man." If anyone would know whether he had eligibility left or not, I think he would. 17-4 on the season, as said he finished 3rd in the D2 nation last year. As he goes for his second NCAA DII title, he'll also be going for his third Super Region V title.
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| Cale Gray Indianapolis |
21-9 on the season, Cale Gray finished 4th in the D2 nation last year. He goes into his junior season with Super Region IV finishes of 2nd & 3rd and Midwest Classic finishes of 4th & 3rd. Behind him in the lineup is a tough Dennis Hubbard, who among his victories had a 9-5 win over Eli Reese.
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| Johnny Green Ouachita Baptist |
The Texas native put together a 24-5 record on the season, which saw a 5th place finish at the DII championships, a runner-up finish at Super Region IV (4th in '22) & a 3rd place finish at the Midwest Classic.
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| Jake Boley Crew Howard Nebraska Kearney |
Lee Herrington goes into his final season of competition looking for his fourth DII All American honor having placed 4th-5th-7th the past three seasons. Behind him in the lineup, he has two extremely tough talents pushing him in the Loper wrestling room. Jake Boley, 16 wins last season who won the Dakota Wesleyan Open & Crew Howard, who was 12-1 last season. He had victories over All American Cale Gray (6-3), R12'er Mason Watt (9-1 & 2-1) & DII qualifier Dan Scheib (Fall 1:05).
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| Jake Swirple Minot State |
18-9 on the season, Jake Swirple was 3rd in Super Region V & 8th at the DII championships.
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| La'Ron Parks Notre Dame (OH) |
The real Notre Dame's La'Ron Parks goes into his junior season now a two time NCAA DII qualifier with back to back 3rd place finishes at Super Region III. A match shy of All American honors, he won the King Open & placed 7th at the Midwest Classic on a 34-8 record. He pinned All American Cale Gray in 7:00.
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| Mason Watt Chadron State |
18-6 on the season, Mason Watt was one match shy of DII All American honors last season. 4th-5th-2nd at Super Region VI, he'll be looking for his fourth medal there as well.
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| John Meyers Seton Hill |
17-3 on the season, John Meyers won a Super Region I title & finished one match away from DII All American status.
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| Isaiah Vance Oggie Atwood Pittsburgh-Johnstown |
The Mountain Cats have two NCAA DII qualifiers at HWT returning for the '23-'24 season. Isaiah Vance an NCAA DII qualifier last season with a 2nd place Super Region I finish was 20-6 on the year. He placed 4th at the Midwest Classic. Oggie Atwood an NCAA DII qualifier in '20, had a 3-1 s.v. over Bishop McCoy & a 15-4 major over Jacob Telles last year.
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| Dan Scheib Shippensburg |
16-6 on the season, Dan Scheib qualified for the NCAA DII championships with a runner-up finish at Super Region I. He was 6th in the Region in '22.
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| Devon Rice Newberry |
22-14 on the season, the South Carolina native was 3rd at Super Region II (5th in '22) & runner-up at the Bob Del Rosa Open.
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| Luke Tweeton Mary |
Luke Tweeton qualified for the NCAA DII championships last season with a 2nd place finish at the Super Region V. On the Season he had both a 3-2 tiebreaker & a 3-1 sudden victory over All American Jake Swirple.
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| Eli Reese Matt Long Gannon |
Officially Eli Reese stuck Matt Long in 51 seconds last year, but nevertheless I am anxious to see how this wrestle-off turns out this season. Reese 16 wins on the season, finished one match shy of NCAA DII qualification with a 4th place finish at Super Region I. Long, 5th at Bob Del Rosa, had both a 3-2 win over Elijah Novak & a 1:06 fall over R12'er La'Ron Parks.
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| Massimo Sullivan UNC-Pembroke |
10 wins on the season, Massimo Sullivan was one match shy of NCAA DII qualification with a 4th place finish at the Super Region II. He had a 3-1 win over DII qualifier Devon Rice.
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| Clayton Ours Tiffin |
23 wins on the season, Clayton Ours was 8th at the Midwest Classic & 4th at Super Region II.
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| Tony Caldwell Fort Hays State |
21 wins on the season, Caldwell finished one match shy of NCAA DII qualification last year.
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| Bishop McCoy Millersville |
10 wins on the season, Bishop McCoy was 5th at Super Region I.
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| Zach Ryg Upper Iowa |
There were a lot of good wrestlers last season who did not make the NCAA DII tournament & Zach Ryg was among the best of them. An All American in 2021 with a 3rd place finish, he was 5th at the Super Region V last year. Runner-up at the Augsburg Invite, he was 5th at the Midwest Classic. On the season he defeated All American Cale Gray 4-2, R12'er La'Ron Parks 5-0 & DII qualifier Luke Tweeton. In the lineup with him will be Jordan Baumler, who among his victories defeated All American Jake Swirple 6-5.
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| Joe Pesce Belmont Abbey |
13-5 on the season, Joe Pesce finished 5th at the Super Region II.
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| Ben Gould CSU-Pueblo |
19 wins on the season, Ben Gould was 5th at Super Region VI.
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| Trent Strong Central Missouri |
Struggling at 197 throughout most of last season, the move up to HWT proved to be beneficial for Trent Strong as once up at 285, he fared much better against the competition taking a 5th place finish at Super Region IV.
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| Elijah Novak Kaleb Haase St Cloud State |
Here's a wrestle-off to look forward to at our heaviest weight class in DII. Elijah Novak was 19-11 on the season last year. A 6th place finish at Super Region V he had a 7-1 win over All American Darrell Mason & both a 3-1 & 8-1 win over DII qualifier Luke Tweeton. Kaleb Haase was 4th at the Yellow Jacket Open. Officially Novak owns a 9-7 s.v. over Haase.
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| Hunter Harnish Mercyhurst |
Hunter Harnish enters his junior season of competition now a two time Super Region I place-winner with finishes of 4th & 6th. 13-8 on the season, he was one match shy of a medal at the Midwest Classic & and stuck DII qualifier Dan Schieb in 6:06.
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| Jacob Telles King |
31 wins on the year, Jacob Telles collected a 6th place finish at Super Region II & a 3rd place finish at the King Open. He defeated DII qualifier Luke Tweeton 3-1.
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| Ryan Herman Maryville |
It's been back to back 6th place Super Region IV finishes for Ryan Herman the past two seasons who finished last year on a record of 25-11. 5th at both the Kaufman Brand & the Lindenwood Opens, he finished one match shy of a medal at the Midwest Classic. He scored a 6-4 s.v. over All American Cale Gray.
Anxious to see who wins this wrestle-off. Ty Petrey was 6th in the Super Region III last season, but Mason Mustain overall at least in my opinion looked better against the competition. He had a 3-1 victory over All American Cale Gray.
Zach Schraeder was 6th at the Super Region VI last season.
Remember how I said at the beginning of this preview that I thought HWT had wrestlers who could possibly contend for the DII title that didn't even place at the Region last season? Well, this is who I was talking about. I'm still not sure how Lloyd Reynolds went 0-2 at Super Region V last season. Am I asinine? I don't think so. 25-9 on the season, Reynolds proved himself multiple times throughout the year. 6th in the Midwest Classic, let's go over his victories. A 2-1 decision over All American Darrell Mason, a 3-1 s.v. over DII qualifier Luke Tweeton, a 6-5 victory over Clayton Ours, 5-4 over Ryan Herman, 2-1 over Hunter Harnish, 3-1 over Ty Petrey & 3-1 s.v. over Elijah Novak. How good he'll be this year is up for debate, but state it a fact that he was one of the best not to qualify for DII nationals last season & maybe even the best not to place at Regions.
Right there with Reynolds in every category is Jacob Dykes. I watched this guy win an Iowa high school state title a few years ago & I've been scratching my head how in the Hell he's walked out of three Super Region V tournaments without a medal. As far as I'm concerned his good enough to be an All American, let alone an NCAA DII qualifier or even top 6 within the Region. 3-1 over All American Darrell Mason, he was 3-0 over All American Jake Swirple, with both a 9-5 & 3-1 victory over Tony Caldwell and a 6-4 win over Ben Gould. When I say there are so many good wrestlers at the DII level that aren't recognized because of their lack of post season credentials, I mean it. Dykes is one of them & hopefully he finally collects at the end of this one.
Three time NCAA DII qualifier Steve Hajas returns after a redshirt season last year. One match from DII All American honors in '22, he'll have both brother Ed Hajas as well as Zach Peterson pushing him in the room.
With NCAA DII champion Shawn Streck now graduated, it begs the question, who will take over for UCO at HWT? The blue & bronze faithful need not worry because the Bronchos are in good hands with Braden Morgan. 15-1 on the season he scored a 4-2 s.v. over R12'er Mason Watt & a 1:45 fall over Zach Schraeder.
Another extremely tough HWT returning off of a redshirt is two time NCAA DII qualifier Ian Kuehl. He defeated DII qualifier Luke Tweeton 6-0, Ryan Herman 7-3 & Hunter Harnish 6-2.
11 wins on the season DeAndre Rucker pinned Tony Caldwell in 4:58.
12 wins on the season, Dustin Swanson defeated Eli Reese 4-3.
Among his victories last season, Emilio Sandoval pinned Tony Caldwell in 5:35.
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| Ty Petrey Mason Mustain Ashland |
Anxious to see who wins this wrestle-off. Ty Petrey was 6th in the Super Region III last season, but Mason Mustain overall at least in my opinion looked better against the competition. He had a 3-1 victory over All American Cale Gray.
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| Zach Schraeder Western Colorado |
Zach Schraeder was 6th at the Super Region VI last season.
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| Lloyd Reynolds UW-Parkside |
Remember how I said at the beginning of this preview that I thought HWT had wrestlers who could possibly contend for the DII title that didn't even place at the Region last season? Well, this is who I was talking about. I'm still not sure how Lloyd Reynolds went 0-2 at Super Region V last season. Am I asinine? I don't think so. 25-9 on the season, Reynolds proved himself multiple times throughout the year. 6th in the Midwest Classic, let's go over his victories. A 2-1 decision over All American Darrell Mason, a 3-1 s.v. over DII qualifier Luke Tweeton, a 6-5 victory over Clayton Ours, 5-4 over Ryan Herman, 2-1 over Hunter Harnish, 3-1 over Ty Petrey & 3-1 s.v. over Elijah Novak. How good he'll be this year is up for debate, but state it a fact that he was one of the best not to qualify for DII nationals last season & maybe even the best not to place at Regions.
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| Jacob Dykes Southwest Minnesota State |
Right there with Reynolds in every category is Jacob Dykes. I watched this guy win an Iowa high school state title a few years ago & I've been scratching my head how in the Hell he's walked out of three Super Region V tournaments without a medal. As far as I'm concerned his good enough to be an All American, let alone an NCAA DII qualifier or even top 6 within the Region. 3-1 over All American Darrell Mason, he was 3-0 over All American Jake Swirple, with both a 9-5 & 3-1 victory over Tony Caldwell and a 6-4 win over Ben Gould. When I say there are so many good wrestlers at the DII level that aren't recognized because of their lack of post season credentials, I mean it. Dykes is one of them & hopefully he finally collects at the end of this one.
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| Steve Hajas Augustana |
Three time NCAA DII qualifier Steve Hajas returns after a redshirt season last year. One match from DII All American honors in '22, he'll have both brother Ed Hajas as well as Zach Peterson pushing him in the room.
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| Braden Morgan Central Oklahoma |
With NCAA DII champion Shawn Streck now graduated, it begs the question, who will take over for UCO at HWT? The blue & bronze faithful need not worry because the Bronchos are in good hands with Braden Morgan. 15-1 on the season he scored a 4-2 s.v. over R12'er Mason Watt & a 1:45 fall over Zach Schraeder.
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| Ian Kuehl McKendree |
Another extremely tough HWT returning off of a redshirt is two time NCAA DII qualifier Ian Kuehl. He defeated DII qualifier Luke Tweeton 6-0, Ryan Herman 7-3 & Hunter Harnish 6-2.
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| DeAndre Rucker Colorado School of Mines |
11 wins on the season DeAndre Rucker pinned Tony Caldwell in 4:58.
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| Dustin Swanson Kutztown |
12 wins on the season, Dustin Swanson defeated Eli Reese 4-3.
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| Emilio Sandoval San Francisco State |
Among his victories last season, Emilio Sandoval pinned Tony Caldwell in 5:35.
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