Here at 133 lbs in NCAA DI wrestling, we have 5 at large/wildcard bids that will be distributed out within the next several days. I'm going to do my best to try and determine who is in contention for those bids.
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| Julian Farber Northern Iowa |
If you're a betting man(woman), I'd put your $$ on Julian Farber being one of the at large bids for the 2024 NCAA DI wrestling tournament. Ranked throughout the entire season, he was 7th at CKLV & he has an assortment of victories to state his case. 8-6 over Hunter Leake of California Baptist, he owns a 3-1 decision over MAC champion Gable Strickland of Lock Haven. Defeating Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska by scores of 9-5 & 8-1, he also owns a 10-9 decision over Ethan Oakley of Appalachian State.
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| Nic Bouzakis Ohio State |
Cases like Nic Bouzakis of Ohio State are exactly why our current system of qualification is in place. 6 months of great wrestling aren't suddenly irrelevant simply because you had one bad weekend. Despite having a nightmare BIG 10's, Bouzakis has had an otherwise pretty impressive freshman campaign outta Columbus. 3rd in a competitive CKLV bracket, he has the W's that are going to get him into the 2024 NCAA DI championships. He stuck ACC champ Kai Orine of NC State in 51 seconds & he defeated SOCON champ Domenic Zaccone of Campbell 4-2. Add in a 1:26 fall over Oakley, he tech'd Zeth Romney of Cal Poly 24-6. Also owns a 13-7 decision over Aaron Nagao of Penn State. Bouzakis is getting in.
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| Richie Koehler Rider |
Richie Koehler is in the exact same position in 2024 that he was in 2023. A 2022 MAC champ, I figured he would have gotten the nod last year being an MAC runner-up. He didn't. How he's the MAC runner-up once again. He did beat champ Strickland earlier this year 4-1, but I'm not sure how much weight that will merit come decision time.
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| Vince Santaniello Pittsburgh |
It's been an up and down season for freshman Vince Santaniello of Pittsburgh. It'll be interesting to see if the final straw is an up or a down for the Panther. He's either going to get in or he's not. What helps his case is a 5-2 win over MAC champ Strickland & perhaps even moreso an 11-4 decision over Bouzakis.
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| Tony Madrigal Illinois |
A three time NCAA qualifier, what scares me the most concerning Tony Madrigal of Illinois is the fact that he wrestled so few matches this season. I'd hate to see him miss out on his fourth qualification, but when you only wrestle a dozen matches & you're batting slightly above .500 that isn't good. His saving grace may very well be an 8-3 decision over Nebraska's Jacob Van Dee.
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These are who I'd send if it were up to me. How about you? Who would your five be?
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