'23-'24 Clarion Open Preview (11-5 Saturday)

 Like all early season openers in NCAA DI wrestling, the Clarion Open is as good as the wrestlers who show up to compete in it.  Last season's was exceptionally good featuring ranked wrestlers at nearly every weight class.  Based on teams listed to compete, should once again be similar. 

125 lbs 

Last year's Clarion Open final was a 6-3 decision for Matt Ramos over Colton Camacho.  That could very well be our final once again, as I say the likely semi-final between Camacho & Nick Babin is a tossup.  The Lion defeated the Panther the last the two met by a 4-2 decision.  The ultimate goal here of course will be to try and knock off Ramos, which would be a golden feather in anyone's hat.  There's also the goal of many talented, yet unranked individuals garnering a victory over either Babin or Camacho, if not both.  It'll be enough of a job just going to war with one another.  Among the competition Drew West owns an 8-6 s.v. over Joey Fischer. 

133 lbs 

Nic Bouzakis put together a very impressive redshirt resume last year & now in his first tournament into his freshman campaign, has the opportunity to win a solid season opener against some solid competition.  Without a doubt, Angelo Rini will give him Hell on the mat.  The '23 NCAA qualifier demolished Dustin Norris 12-1 the last they met & he also owns a 5-3 victory over Vincent Santaniello.  Norris himself owns a 7-3 victory over Hunter Adrian. 

Santaniello is another tough freshman that the Panthers are relying on this year, despite being injured all of last season. The rankers still think enough of him to have given him a ranking, more than can be said for Tye Varndell of Edinboro & Hunter Adrian who both have notable victories thus far in their careers. Adrian put together 20 wins last season, a 6-4 s.v. over Rini among them. 

141 lbs 

If both Jesse Mendez & Cole Matthews show up to compete, we fans will be treated to an early season matchup between two NCAA DI title contenders. Stranger things have happened in collegiate wrestling but the chances of either one of these guys getting knocked off before the finals is slim to none.  The real question here is who will take third?  Jordan DeCatur seems a likely candidate.  Having spent the bulk of his career at Ohio State, he's now a Golden Flash for Kent State.  He thus far owns two solid victories over Jordan Hamdan. A 5-0 decision & a 5-2 decision.  The other guy to keep an eye on here is Todd Carter.  He's one of those "on a good day" wrestlers & well, this could end up a good day for him. 

149 lbs 

Dylan D'Emilio will be the odds on favorite here at 149 lbs.  With that said, I'm anxious to see if #27 is a fair ranking for Marcos Polanco, or if the former Golden Gopher, now Boilermaker will show that he ought to be ranked higher.  Kyle Shickel of course competing on his home mats in front of his home crowd will want to do good & as for our monkey wrench, look for the Price to perhaps be right.  I'm not exactly sure how good Zach Price is now that he's back at 149 lbs.  What I do know though, is that he's a hell of a lot better than unranked. Hope to see him prove that this weekend. 

157 lbs 

Chase Saldate made leaps and bounds between '21-'22 & '22-'23.  If he's able to win a title here, especially with a win over Paddy Gallagher, it'll help to continue him on his path to getting better and better. On the other side of the coin, a victory for Gallagher would really be good for the sophomore Buckeye. Not to mention how it'd help to open up the eyes of collegiate wrestling fans who are for some reason still unaware of just how difficult it is to crack a lineup at the Division I level.  I mean think about it, Sammy Sasso probably isn't ready for competition quite yet, but soon enough he will be.  What becomes of Gallagher then? An already top 16 by rankings standards, perhaps even an All American candidate. By year's end, a backup.  Really puts things in perspective doesn't it? 

As to our bronze medalist here, I don't think Jared Keslar should have much problem.  I don't see him knocking off Saldate or Gallagher but I don't see anyone knocking him off either.  I guess I wouldn't put it out of the question if Luke Kemerer or Blake Saito were to pull off the upset. However, I think it's much more likely that we'll either see them duking it out in the consolation semi-finals or for 5th place. 

165 lbs 

If all who can show up, do show up I think we're looking at one of our most competitive weight classes at the Clarion Open.  Much like teammate Chase Saldate, Caleb Fish made a lot of improvements from '21-'22 to '22-'23.  Winning this tournament, especially with the semi-final & final he'd have to win in order to do so would be a great way to start off the season.  Against the competition, he owns a 7-2 decision over Holden Heller, who could very well end up his finals opponent.  Heller owns a 4-2 victory over Joshua Ogunsanya & of course we have a tough Bryce Hepner who is looking to start fires after redshirting last season. 

Lastly Purdue has two wrestlers here at 165, still not for sure (as in I'm not, they might be) who will be the starter towards seasons end.  Cooper Noehre was 3rd here last season. 

174 lbs 

Last year's finals was an injury default for Jared McGil over John Worthing. I would say if everyone who can show up, does show up, we're more likely to see these two duking it out for 5th than to see a repeat of last year's championship match. Our favorite as of the time is Carson Kharchla, although I wouldn't put it past the winner of a likely semi-final match between Lennox Wolak & Luca Augustine to pull off an upset.  Thus far the Lion has managed to tame the young Panther twice by scores of 3-1 & 3-2. It's difficult to beat a good wrestler by close scores three times in a row. 

Our question mark here is A.J. Burkhart.  While competing for Lehigh, he's had his ups and downs.  He's capable of doing some big things. A 10-6 victory over McGil proves it. 

184 lbs 

Our likely final here will be between Layne Malczewski & Reece Heller, which leads me to another point I can't help but make.  Seems the wrestling community enjoys being negative & pessimistic more than it does positive and optimistic. When Michigan State was down in the gutter, dwelling in the basement, sure were a lot of criticisms to go around. Now that they're getting better year by year, my how wrestling fans seem to Simon & Garfunkle up to the Sounds of Silence.  A win here over Reece Heller wouldn't exactly be winning a BIG 10 title, but it would hone in the fact that the Spartans have a top wrestler on their team. 

With that said, we really haven't seen Seth Shumate compete against the quality yet. He does own a win over All American John Poznanski, but Poznanski was far from 100% at the time.  Is Shumate gonna be in the rumble from the get go?  Malczewski & Heller would provide excellent test to see. 

Lastly I could see Jha'Quan Anderson perhaps finishing third here.  Again a lot has to do with just how good Shumate is at this point in his career.  Considering that the last Malczewski & Anderson met, Malczewski scored a 15-0 technical fall, I don't see it being any better than third, but I do see third a possibility. 

Lingering in the wings will be Cam Pine, who I'm sure would love to knock off any of the other four.  Being a home tournament, competing on his home mats, in front of his home fans? I wouldn't completely rule out an upset. 

197 lbs 

Mac Stout won the Clarion Open last season & should stand a shot at winning another in what should be a good final with Gavin Hoffman.  Hoffman as I've said a million times before has glimpses of a guy that could win a national title. He also has glimpses of not qualifying.  So which one shows up? With that said Mac Stout is borderline AA in his own right. 

As to our consolation final, I'm thinking an "on the line" match between Sam Mitchell and Ben Vanadia.  Mitchell with the pressure of keeping his ranking & Vanadia with the pressure of trying to steal it.  I suppose Mitchell might not fall out of the rankings if he were to lose, but I do think Vanadia would get into the rankings with a win over Mitchell. 

HWT 

Dayton Pitzer strikes me as the type who might be ranked a heck of a lot higher than #9 as the season progresses.  Nick Feldman should be a good test to start off the season. Look for Hayden Copass to take third. 

'23-'24 Patriot Open Preview

 The NAIA doesn't mess around.  They start off with tough tournaments right from the get go. Last year's Patriot Open featured an assortment of ranked wrestlers who by season's end, were crowned All Americans. I believe this year's Patriot Open will be every bit as tough.  Let's take a look weight by weight. 

125 lbs 

A very tough weight class featuring five ranked wrestlers, four of which are ranked within the top 10.  Led by All American Conner Diamond who was 8th in the NAIA nation last season, we ought to have two excellent semi-finals, an excellent final & an excellent consolation final when it is all said and done.  Our likely monkey-wrench here at least in my opinion would be Alex Cottey, a 3rd place finisher at last year's WHAC championships.  While ranking separates him by a great distance to the other four stars in this bracket, I'm not sure if the journey concerning overall talent and ability is nearly as far. Should be a fun bracket to watch. 

133 lbs 

A very tough weight class featuring seven ranked wrestlers, and three returning Patriot Open place-winners from last season, albeit two of them at 125 lbs.  Sammy Shires who was 5th in the NAIA last season will most likely be our #1 seed, but it'll be anything but a shoe-in.  Alex Pena an All American in 2021, has been looking to return to form for quite sometime & winning a title here would be a good start.  Kolby Encinas who has finished thus far 2nd & 3rd in the KCAC is looking to climb up the ladder & Elijah Anthony could prove to be much better than initially anticipated.  He was the backup to multiple time All American Matt Gimson, who placed 2nd here last year.

Bryce Cockrell interest me as I think a year of adjustment was needed after transferring from Long Island last year.  

Anthony Hughes & especially Chandler Akins interest me here because I can't help but wonder if they're both ranked much lower than what they should be.  Hughes was 3rd & Akins was 2nd both competing at 125 lbs in these championships last season.  Granted, it is hard to know where to rank someone when they move up a weight class, but I can see both of them doing very well.  After all this is Akins home tournament & being a senior this will be the last one he ever competes in. Those two incentives alone can give someone a lot of motivation. 

141 lbs 

Talk about a who's who of the NAIA concerning 141 lbs! If everyone who can show up, does show up, then we have ourselves an all out war, that in many ways could be as good as the NAIA championships themselves! Eight ranked wrestlers, five of which within the top eight & only six spots on the award stand in this tournament. To place within the top six here, it'll be an all out war. 

Pat Gould goes into the season the #1, but right smack from the get go, he'll have that status challenged.  4th in the NAIA last year, believe it or not he was 4th at these championships last year as well.  David Pierson was 8th in the NAIA last year & will be hot on Gould's tail as will be Evan Potter, who is a two time NAIA All American himself down at 133 lbs. If this is indeed one of our semi-finals, it'll make a great match. 

Logan Wagner is who I am most anticipated to see compete this tournament. I've been dying to see just how good this guy really is.  Shea Ruffridge ended his phenomenal collegiate career at Grand View last season on an extremely high note. He knocked off three time NAIA champion Baagii, keeping him from winning his fourth title.  Earlier in the season, Wagner nearly majored Ruffridge by an 8-2 decision.  Is this a sign of things to come from Wagner?  We'll find out this weekend. 

Adrian Ayala was one match shy of NAIA All American honors last season. Knocking off anyone ranked above him would be good not only for his ranking but also for his confidence.  

The bracket also features four other wrestlers ranked within the top 20, all of which are looking to make a name for themselves.  A top 6 showing here, with the quality victories that it would take in order to do so, will most certainly help. 

149 lbs 

Here's where things might get really interesting.  We have four of the top eight at 149, but three of them competed at different weight classes last season.  Jace Luchau 4th in the NAIA, finished as the runner-up at 157 in last year's Patriot Open.  We'll see how he does a weight class down, as both Parker DoBrocky & Bryce Nickel have moved up from 141 lbs.  Last year's Patriot Open, DoBrocky won a title & Nickel finished in 3rd place.  What a treat it'd be for the home fans to see an all Patriot final between Lachau & Nickel. 

Speaking of Nickel, I could see him coming in here and really cementing himself as a name that should be seriously considered when evaluating plausible NAIA champs by year's end. The two time NAIA All American failed to place at last year's national tournament. So I'm sure he has a chip on his shoulder & we could see all of that unfold here. 

It was a shock to me to see that Jack Latimer had more eligibility left & it was an even bigger shock when I just found out that he's now at Cumberland. You can bet he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

As we take a look at the remaining ranked wrestlers in Seth Johnson & Chris Kelly, I feel that Chad Sakamoto has been snubbed by not receiving a ranking. I think he's done enough in his career to warrant a top 25 ranking, but I guess those in position of ranking disagree with JT#1.  I'm still sticking to my guns that if he enters this tournament that he is more than capable of a top six showing.  They guy knows how to win & pulling off an upset or two wouldn't surprise me at all either. 

157 lbs 

Defending an NAIA title is one of the toughest jobs in in collegiate wrestling & right out of the gate, Sal Silva will be challenged here at the Patriot Open.  Right on his tail will be Nate Wheeler of Indiana Tech who was 6th in the NAIA nation last season, as well as champion here.  Aaron Gandara who was 6th in the NAIA two seasons ago, will be looking to reclaim his status & knocking off Wheeler or Silva would do just that. 

Who I'm really excited to see compete here is Andreus Bond. A NAIA national champion in 2021 & 4th in 2022, he had a nightmare of a tournament last season failing to place.  I was thrilled when I found out that he had another season of eligibility & I'm anxious to see how he does up at 157 after competing at 149 the past few years.  Same goes for Gandara  who was also at 149 last year. 

The competition continues with four others ranked in the top 25, including Brent Hudgins a two time NAIA qualifier. 

165 lbs 

Of all of the returning champions from last season, the one I think with the best chance of repeating will be Noah Hollendonner who won a title up at 174 lbs last season.  Also an NAIA R12'er last season, while his road won't necessarily be a cakewalk, it's not as hilly, curvy and bumpy as some of the other ones are.  On paper it looks to be a semi-final between Trace Braun & Justin Bartee, but I definitely would not count Eli Clemmons out of being a finalist or even a champion. He was runner-up here at 157 lbs last year. 

I know that Montevallo is scheduled to appear at this tournament & I would imagine they're going to bring their full squad.  I should have also included Gabe Hixenbaugh in my preview for 133, but I overlooked the fact that the Falcons will be here.  As to Barrett Dempsey I'm very excited to see him compete. The State of Mississippi, with a wrestler from Mississippi, that excelled at a Mississippi high school is looking for their first superstars.  As to NCAA DII I think Dempsey will eventually be one of them.  Now's a good as time as any in the start of making history. 

174 lbs 

History could very well repeat itself, only at a different weight class. Last year's 165 lbs Patriot Open Championship was a victory for Cole Smith over Elliott Rodgers. We could very well see the same final here at 174 lbs.  As to the rest of the place-winners it is rather interesting that Life is not listed to compete in this year's championships, as they put four wrestlers on the award stand here last year.  I do believe the other four place winners will be fought amongst the other five wrestlers I have listed. 

184 lbs 

I'm a little out of character here as normally I'm full of a lot of opinion. Here, I'm really not.  I do think our man to beat here will be William Speight, who took 3rd here last year.  His likely finals opponent, being home favorite Thomas Ketchen-Carter, a Midsouth Conference champion last year. 

197 lbs 

Kyle Scott won a title here last season, but if he's going to repeat as champion, he has a Hell of a good field he has to go through.  Nathan Critchfield was 5th in the NAIA championships last season & Andrew Herrera was only a match away from earning All American honors himself. Not to mention he also has Carter Knoll who was 5th in these championships last year as well as Niko Perovic who was also 5th at these championships competing at 184 lbs last year.  Add in a very tough Jacob Brandt & if Scott wins Rochester another individual title, he WILL have something to brag about. 

HWT

Another great opportunity for Cumberlands to crown another champion at their hometown Open.  Gabe Jacobs 3rd in the NAIA last season, was also runner-up here last year.  His best competition will be Earnet Johnson, who himself was 7th in the NAIA & 5th here last year.  Rounding out the rest of the weight class will be Bruce Wagers who was 6th at the Patriot Open last season, followed by three other top caliber wrestlers all ranked within the top 25. 

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Lots of great wrestling to be held at this year's Patriot Open.  What I really like about this tournament is that Cumberlands has potential place-winners at many of the weight classes & in four of them, probability for finalists, with three of the four potential to crown a champion.  I think that's a healthy thing for the sport. To have the host team with quality wrestlers likely to do well, so that the home crowd fans can get behind them and cheer them on when they do well.  It can make for a very exciting and electrifying atmosphere. 

'23-'24 Southeast Open Preview (11-4-2023)

I tell you what, these perceivable small, beginning of the year tournaments and opens can actually turn out to be very good, if the competition shows up and competes.  The Southeast Open in years past has displayed some very good matches between some very good wrestlers.  Each weight class foreseeably should feature ranked wrestlers and of course those who are looking to knock off ranked wrestlers.  Going in with the open mind that who can show up, will show up, here's our preview. 

125 lbs 

  
7th in the NCAA DI nation last season & a Southeast Open champion, #4 Eddie Ventresca goes into this year's Southeast Open the obvious favorite.  Defending his title, keeping his ranking...hell even keeping his varsity spot will all be a challenge this Saturday.  Among his competition he has #11 Brandon Kaylor who already owns a victory over the Hokie 6-4 s.v.  In this bracket is also Anthony Molton, who two seasons ago majored Ventresca 14-6.  Then of course there is also teammate Cooper Flynn, who Ventresca has thus far managed to squeek by in 1-2 point matches, many of which have ended in either overtime or tiebreakers.  For record's sake, Kaylor owns a 2:46 fall over Molton. 

Rounding out the rest of the competition, Chattanooga's Brayden Palmer will look to do big things & Northwest Kansas Tech NJCAA champion Jett Strickenberger who now competes for West Virginia will get to officially test himself against some quality DI competition. Potential is all fine and dandy, but now it's time to show up and wrestle. It's early in the season, but a lot could unfold as we're just getting started. 

133 lbs 

In this sport you never say never and you always expect the unexpected. With that said, it's my job right now to predict how I think this thing is going to go & I think that two time All American Sam Latona should walk out of this thing with a tournament title.  The potential semi-final between Domenic Zaccone & Haiden Drury interest me.  I can see this being a highly competitive match.  Do I see Gabe Whisenhunt coming in here & knocking off any of the three ranked wrestlers? No, but this is a tournament that places the top 6 & I do think on paper he's the fourth best wrestler going into this thing. 

141 lbs 

Last year's Southeast Champ Tom Crook is redshirting, but since this is an open, it' a good possibility that we could see him back to defend his title.  He'd be the clear favorite if he is. As to the rest of the weight class, I'll start off by saying this.  Rankings are one of the toughest most unrewarding tasks in amateur wrestling media. It's why I don't do them. Four of the wrestlers in this weight class are all ranked within five spots of one another & after this tournament there could be a lot of rearranging that needs done.  Cleveland Belton really stepped it up a not from '21-'22 to '22-'23.  Winning this tournament would be an indication he made similar improvements for '23-'24.  Jack Gioffre a redshirt freshman for the Caviliers looking to climb the ranks would be doing his rookie campaign a favor by winning this tournament, as would sophomore Jordan Titus of West Virginia.  I would definitely keep a lookout on Shannon Hanna, a two time SOCON champ who can be downright tough when he wants to be. In my opinion, Pat Phillips is the Diplomatic hope for F&M and is good enough to be a top 33 wrestler.  This would be an excellent opportunity for him to prove it. 

149 lbs 

149 lbs features both the returning champion & the returning runner-up from last season.  Champion Caleb Henson, who is actually from the Southeast is once again the favorite to win this year's title. Unable to do so for a school in his home state as all six Division I programs in Georgia (five of which at one time did) do not field a wrestling program, he represents another great team in the southern state of Virginia.   He defeated Sam Hillegas in the finals last season 3-0. 

Hillegas' road back if he is to once again make the finals is going to be a rather challenging one.  He'll have to knock off two wrestlers who based on rankings are most likely going to be seeded above him.  This tournament gives redshirt freshman Mike Gioffre, like brother Jack an opportunity to see where he stands going into the season.  The wrestler to keep an eye on here looking to pull off some upsets will be Ty Smith.  The Wolverine is inconsistent, but at the same time always a danger when he steps on the mat. He'll pull off a fair share of notable victories this season & some of them could very well be here. 

157 lbs 

157 lbs could very well end up a bracket where making the top six turns out to be quite the task. Obviously our favorite to win a title here is two time NCAA DI All American Bryce Andonian, although don't be the least bit surprised if Peyten Kellar gives him one Hell of a fight.  The last these two met, it was a 7-6 victory for Andonian. I'd put $$ on this most likely being our final. 

As to 3rd through 6th?  Good question.  Dylan Cedeno was a runner-up here last season, but that was at 141 lbs.  Who knows how he'll compete up two weight classes. Caleb Dowling can be tough, as can Isaiah Crosby.  The of course we also have Andonian's backup, Clayton Ulrey who in his own right is a notable competitor with quality wins. Don't see him knocking off Andonian or Kellar, but a strong 3rd place showing is not out of the question. 

Lastly, I think this early season tournament will give us a good glimpse into the battle of the SOCON.  We have three of the conference's top wrestlers featured. 

165 lbs 

This weight class excites me for a few different reasons. First and foremost this gives me my first opportunity this season to speak about Morgan State wrestling! It won't be an easy task by any means, but if anyone on the recently reinstated Bear wrestling squad can make a name for himself in this tournament, I think it'll be Jake Marsh.  A top 4 showing is probably out of the question at this point, but competing in the 5th/6th place match is definitely doable. 

As to our championship match, all fingers point towards a likely final between Matt Olguin of Oregon State & Peyton Hall (sorry for the wrong last name above) of West Virginia, both '24 All American candidates.  I'd give Connor Brady a fighting man's chance at knocking off one of them, with an even smaller likelihood of knocking off both. Then of course among the Cavilier rookies, Nick Hamilton looking to show what goods he brings to the show.  Lastly, Garrett Thompson & Bryce Sanderlin will be among those looking to fill those 5th & 6th place slots. 

174 lbs 

Before the season began as a wrestling fan I had a lot of questions.  Some of the questions I had regarding 174 lbs in NCAA Division I could very well be answered in this tournament.  Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech, one of the top three contenders for the NCAA DI title this season will face tougher competition throughout the year. However winning the Southeast Open here against these formidable opponents would be a nice way to start off the season.  On paper, his likely finals opponent will be Justin McCoy, one of the top wrestlers in the nation yet to make All Amerian.  However, it is a question as to where exactly Travis Wittlake will fall this season. Years ago competing at 165 lbs, he was an All American, one we thought would compete for the NCAA title himself.  He then seemed to struggle with the cut to 165, bumping up to 184, where he had a very respectable, but not near as dominating performance.  Perhaps he'd playing the part of Goldylocks & will find 174 lbs to be just right. 

In my opinion, Austin Murphy is All American material, but as for right now the rankings have him at #30.   I think he's much better than this and within due time will prove himself to be at least a top 12 wrestler.  A good performance here would help him to climb that rankings ladder.  As we look over the rest of the weight class, look to Sal Perrine & Brody Conley to be are two other place-winners. 

184 lbs 

An NCAA DI title contender in his own right, I think Trey Munoz should walk out of here as the Southeast Open champion without much of a challenge.  The real battle here will be for runner-up honors as we have five wrestlers, four of which are ranked all within six spots of one another.  The favorite here to take silver is Caleb Hopkins, although Sam Fisher himself was a runner-up here last season. He owns a 10-4 victory over Dennis Robin.  Zayne Lehman has been known to outwrestle both his seed & his ranking.  Upsetting Munoz is probably out of the question & upsetting Caleb Hopkins would be a tall order. Taking 3rd though, is a very doable challenge.  Look to Haydn Danels to be our sixth man looking for placement. 

197 lbs 

197 lbs will be a dogfight concerning the top six and what order they place in.  Leading the way will be Hokie Andy Smith, who at times last season looked absolutely brilliant on the mat.  He comes into the Southeast Open owning a 6:58 fall over Evan Bockman, a 12-7 victory over Levi Hopkins & a 10-4 victory over John Crawford.  Bockman, as far as rankings go, just a hair behind Smith, owns a 12-4 major over Hopkins and a 4-2 decision over Austin Cooley.  Hopkins owns a 10-2 major over Tyler Mousaw, as Crawford owns a 4-2 decision over Mousaw.  On a personal note, I would love to see Crawford come in and have a great tournament. Coach Rogers and staff are doing a great job of turning the Diplomat program around & I don't think they get near enough credit for it. On the same hand, it takes results for people to take notice and give credit.  Lastly I'm well aware for my own bias & I'm more than happy to be checked on it, but I can't help it. I really believe that talent & ability wise, Mousaw is a very good wrestler.  Belief is nugatory without results however, so we'll see how he does. 

HWT 

Last year's finals was a 4-1 victory for Hunter Catka over Michael Wolfgram. Maybe a little tougher to repeat this year as we now have Taye Ghadiali as well as Boone McDermott added to the list.  Ghadiali owns two very close wins over H. Catka, that include a 3-2 decision as well as a 3-1 sudden victory.  Although the rankings have Wolfgram two spots behind McDermott, his final victory over last season was a 6-3 decision over the former Scarlet Knight, now Beaver.  

I think the real guy to look out for here could very well be Ryan Catka.  He spent the last two seasons more or less a back up to Grady Griess at Navy & now that he's at Virginia, he finally has the opportunity to show the wrestling world what he can do.  The Southeast Open provides him an excellent chance to prove himself.   Lastly, I can see Jayden Woodruff being one of our top 6 by tournament's end. 


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There you have it. My opinions and predictions concerning this season's Southeast Open.  So many of these early season tournaments get overlooked because they're not well advertised or promoted.  It's also a fact that everyone who could show up, doesn't always.  With that said, a lot of great competition DOES show up & these tournaments do feature a lot of great matches. My goal is to illustrate through this preview some of the great wrestling that is likely to take place. 

MIDLANDS Used to be "The" Tournament

 I'm not telling any of you old timers anything you don't already know. However, it's been quite a while since the Midlands has been "The Midlands" if you know what I mean. There was a time when it was the Olympics of scholastic style wrestling. The NCAA's may have still be the pinnacle, but in many ways at many times, it was harder & more of a challenge to win a Midlands title. I don't know if the younger generations are aware of just how insanely loaded Midlands brackets were at one time. 

There are many ways I could illustrate this point.  I have decided today to illustrate it by looking at a series of NCAA Champions who in the same season, not only didn't win a Midlands title, but lost at least twice in the tournament. I think this drives home the point as to how incredibly tough the Midlands was at one time.  Here are some examples....

Mark Massery
Northwestern
1973 NCAA Champion
1972 5th Midlands 

Mark Massery of Northwestern would end his final season of collegiate wrestling 1972-1973 as the NCAA DI champion at 126 lbs.  However, that same year he was 5th at the Midlands championships.  After dropping a 3-1 semi-final to Billy Martin of Oklahoma State, he would drop a 6-3 consolation semi-final to Mike Downer of Washington.  At the NCAA's Massery would avenge his loss to Martin in a wild 8-8, 6-0 contest in the semi-finals. Martin would finish in 5th place to Massery's title as Downer went a disappointing 2-2. 

Jim Woods
Western Illinois
1974 NCAA Champion 
1973 5th Midlands 

Many things can be said about this particular instance.  For one, the DI school located in Macomb, Illinois with plenty of nearby competition would be doing itself a great favor by restoring their wrestling program. It's also an opportunity to be able to point out just how good former Ohio State head coach Russ Hellickson was on the mat.  He is after all one of the wrestlers to defeat Woods at the Midlands the season he won the NCAA title.  Hellickson defeated Woods 6-3 in the quarter-finals.  Woods was again be defeated in the consolation semi-finals by Tom Hazel of Oklahoma State.  The NCAA's would be a different story however.  Woods was on fire, pinning his way through the quarter-finals. A tough semi-final, he won the final with relative ease.  Hazel on the other hand slipped to 6th after a heartbreaking loss in the semis. 

Evan Johnson
Minnesota
1976 NCAA Champion
1975 6th Midlands 

It's results like these that make me such a strong advocate to bring post-grads back to Midlands competition. Evan Johnson won an NCAA title during the '75-'76 season that featured a bracket consisting of both Frank Santana and Bud Palmer.  Yet earlier that season he was defeated 3⃣ times in Midlands competition, finishing in 6th place.  Ben Peterson a multiple time NCAA champion for Iowa State himself, bested the Golden Gopher 4-4 tiebreaker in the quarterfinals.  Johnson then dropped a tight 4-3 decision to Chris Campbell, who would drop down a weight class later that season to win an NCAA title of his own.  In his final match of the tournament, Johnson lost a 0-0 rideout to Laurent Soucie, who had finished up his final season of eligibility the season before placing 3rd at the NCAA's.  Now think about this for a second.  In one bracket, you have an Olympic Gold Medalist in Ben Peterson, plus two more guys who would win NCAA titles that season! Not to mention the guy who had taken 3rd at the NCAA's the previous year!  When I say the Midlands brackets used to be frickin' loaded I mean it! 

Jimmy Jackson
Oklahoma State
1976 NCAA Champion
1975 4th Midlands 

'76, '77 & '78 between the NCAA & BIG 12, Jimmy Jackson more or less ruled the roost of collegiate wrestling. The only place he wasn't able to strike gold during his collegiate career was at the Midlands. In his sophomore season, the year before he'd win his first NCAA title, he was upended in the semi-finals 4-2 s.v. by former Northern Iowa Panther Mike McCready.  McCready was an NCAA DII champion for UNI in 1972, also winning an NCAA title in track & field.  When he defeated Jackson, he was redhot off of a winning a gold medal at the PAN-AMERICAN championships.  Jackson would then lose in the consolation finals to Tom Hazel 1-1 tiebreaker.  Hazel ironically enough, a former Oklahoma State Cowboy himself, was one of Jackson's coaches! 

Winning a second NCAA title in 1977, Jackson wasn't able to win a Midlands title that year either. It'd be Harold Smith of Kentucky who bested the Cowboy 7-3 in the finals. At the NCAA's when Jackson won his second of what would eventually be three titles, Smith finished a match short of All American honors.  

Although Jackson was unable to win a Midlands title during his time at Oklahoma State, post graduation he did win a Midlands title in 1979.  For the record, Smith performed well at the Midlands post his graduation as well.  This included a 3rd place showing & two runner-up finishes. 

Lou Banach
Iowa
1983 NCAA Champion
1982 4th Midlands 

To put it into perspective of just how good Lou Banach was, in December of 1982 he was only three months shy of winning his second NCAA DI title in March of 1983.  Come a little over a year later, he'd be bringing home Olympic Gold.  Yet at the Midlands tournament, the man who would win NCAA gold & Olympic gold, finished in 4th place.  It was former Arizona State Sun Devil/future MMA superstar Dan Severn who stopped the Hawkeye dead in his tracks in the quarter-finals with a 4-4 tiebreaker rideout.  Banach would then work his way back to the consolation finals where he defaulted to Harold Smith whom I mentioned earlier. 

Bill Hyman
Temple
1985 NCAA Champion
1984 4th Midlands 

Harold Smith makes yet another appearance in this article.  I bet you never knew the University of Kentucky produced such a stellar HWT did you?  It was the Wildcat who stopped that season's NCAA DI champ in the semi-finals with a 4-2 decision.  Hyman was then defeated again in the consolation semi-finals by a man I consider one of the best of all time to never make All American honors, as well as one of the best of all time to never win an EIWA title.  Syracuse's Andy Schwab, a three time EIWA runner-up.  The Orangeman defeated Hyman by an impressive 7-2 score.  Hyman would avenge that loss in the EIWA finals 3-2. 

Jon Llewellyn
Illinois
1991 NCAA Champion
1990 4th Midlands 

Let's talk about the late Jon Llewellyn for a second. The legendary Fighting Illini was a three time All American for Illinois during his collegiate career. In his senior season of '90-'91 he was the guy that kept Olympic legend/WWE superstar Kurt Angle from winning an NCAA title his junior season. That's how good Llewellyn was.  Yet in that same season he was pinned in just 1:27 by Tom Erickson (a HWT legend in his own right) in the Midlands' semi-finals. He then dropped another match to Dan Severn in the 3rd place bout. 

Mark Kerr
Syracuse
1992 NCAA Champion
1991 6th Midlands 

No post-grads to discuss in this one. Simply two incredibly tough brackets, one Midlands and the other NCAA, that featured the best collegiate wrestler's the '91-'92 season had to offer.  Mark Kerr of Syracuse dropped a 2-0 s.v. semi-finals to Iowa's Todd Fiser & then dropped a 6-5 decision to Ohio State's Rex Holman in the 3rd place bout.  At the NCAA's Kerr would avenge his loss to Holman with a 10-6 victory.  Winning the NCAA title, Holman finished in 3rd place & Fiser took 5th. 

Daryl Weber
Iowa
1996 NCAA Champion     
1995 5th Midlands

Much like the example above, we're talking about two loaded brackets that featured the same outstanding collegiate wrestlers. One was the Midlands in December and the other was the NCAA's in March.  At the Midlands, champ Daryl Weber was bested by Marcus Mollica of Arizona State in a 10-6 decision in the semi-finals. He would then lose again in the consolation semi-finals by a 6-4 decision to Boise State's Charles Burton 6-4.  Weber would take revenge against Mollica in the NCAA semi-finals with a 6-4 decision of his own.  Burton would defeat Mollica for 3rd place at the NCAA's. 

To give you more of an idea how just how loaded the Midlands bracket was that season, Weber defeated future Olympic Gold Medalist Brandon Slay for 5th place! The 1997 NCAA champ Barry Weldon of Iowa State finished in 7th! 

Nate Carr
Iowa State
1981 NCAA Champion
1980 5th Midlands

The 1988 Bronze Medalist who won NCAA DI titles in 1981, 1982 & 1983 only lost 20 times against 117 victories during his time as a Cyclone for Iowa State. Two of those losses were at the Midlands in the season that he would win his first NCAA title.  In the semi-finals he was defeated by 1980 NCAA champion Andy Rein formally of Wisconsin 6-4. Then in the consolation semi-finals in what I believe to be the only time he was even pinned during his collegiate days, Reggie Thompson of San Jose State registered a 3:52 fall against the Cyclone.  The Spartans may not have much many remember since discontinuing the sport, but I think Thompson pinning Carr is something worth remembering. May I also note that Thompson had a losing record at the time & he himself was only a one time NCAA qualifier. 

Chris Bono
Iowa State
1996 NCAA Champion     
1995 4th Midlands

As the years progressed it'd be Chris Bono who would don the title of "post-grad" who would whip up on collegiate stars as he made five Midlands finals, winning four Midlands titles post his time as an Iowa State Cyclone. However in his junior season of '95-'96, it'd be Bono who would lose in the semi-finals to former Oklahoma State Cowboy Alan Fried 10-4. Bono would then drop a tight 2-1 tiebreaker to Russ Hughes of Penn State in the 3rd place match. Later that season as Bono won the NCAA title, Hughes finished in 3rd place. 


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Are there more examples I could give you? Sure, but I think I more than made my point. The Midlands is still a great tournament, but it used to be THE tournament.  As in like in many ways, tougher than the NCAA's. The "Olympics" of our version of folkstyle wrestling if you will. This was because at one time you often had the best college wrestlers in the nation not afraid to go toe to toe before the big dance. There wasn't this namby-pamby horse manure of trying to protect seeds. It was our nation's best going to war.  The other reason of course is because of the participation of post-grads.  I realize that for many reasons we'll probably never see post-grads at the Midlands again.  I've written about my frustration and disappointment with this before.  I think in today's internet age, with the growth of wrestling's popularity, it'd be a prime time to make the Midlands like it used to be. 

I gave plenty of examples, and I have more.  The Midlands used to be "it." It truly did.