Speaking specifically to CKLV, we have not only last year's champion returning, but also a champion from two seasons ago. Add in four other place-winners, right there you have 6 wrestlers looking to earn another medal. Let's dive in and look at the massive amount of talent that will be competing in this weight class.
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| #1 Richard Figueroa Arizona State |
Last year's NCAA DI champ, Richard Figueroa won a CKLV title two seasons ago & you better believe everyone and their dog will be looking to dethrone him this weekend. He has a lot of notable wins against the competition, but a lot of those wins have been uncomfortably close. Plus he has a few losses. At the end of the day a W is a W & getting to the top of the mountain is key here. He's done it before, and has the talent and tools to do it again.
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| #2 Caleb Smith Nebraska |
3rd here a year ago, Caleb Smith is a contender for this year's CKLV title. He's given Figueroa a 4-3 match, plus he has an 8-4 decision over Matt Ramos. He's had some other close battles with various wrestlers in this bracket, but like Figueroa, he often finds a way to win. I would think he would get the nod as the *2 seed.
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| Matt Ramos Purdue |
The man who kept at three time NCAA DI champion from becoming a four time NCAA DI champion. That will forever be the legacy of Matt Ramos of Purdue. The question arises, can he win an NCAA DI title himself? How he performs at CKLV this weekend will be very telling. So far the Boilermaker has been 8th-2nd-7th in CKLV competition. He owns a 5-2 decision over Caleb Smith & he owns a 3-2 decision over last year's champion, Nico Provo.
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| #4 Tanner Jordan South Dakota State |
I've talked many times so far this season of how Tanner Jordan's progression and improvement have been very rewarding to watch over the years. He's got that Rocky Marciano type style where he just keeps going at you the full seven minutes. If you check for batteries, it wouldn't surprise me at all to find out they're Energizer. He just keeps going and going and going. Thus far, he's been 6th & 8th in these championships. Seeing that he already owns an 8-6 s.v. over Smith, it's not that far fetched to think he might pull off a major upset somewhere along the line.
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| #5 Troy Spratley Oklahoma State |
On Twitter the other day someone of significance was stating that they felt Troy Spratley could contend for an NCAA DI title this season. I have to agree with that. The guy is tough, but before we start thinking about what could happen in March, I think we need to start thinking about what will happen the first week of December. Spratley was one match shy of earning a medal here last season, but by all means could contend for a CKLV title this weekend. A 13-5 major decision over Richard Figueroa speaks for itself but that's not all the young Cowboy has to brag about. He's defeated Tanner Jordan twice by scores of 7-3 and 4-3. He also owns a 7-4 s.v. over Jore Volk.
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| #7 Jore Volk Wyoming |
5th at last year's CKLV, you know good and well that Jore Volk has his sights set on winning a title this weekend. A 6-4 victory over Richard Figueroa, he's defeated Caleb Smith twice by scores of 5-1 & 4-2. He also owns a 3-2 tiebreaker, as well as 5-1 decision over Troy Spratley. Add in three wins over Tanner Jordan (4-0, 7-1, 1-0), the Cowboy defeated last year's champion Nico Provo 5-4.
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| #8 Nico Provo Stanford |
Last years' champion may not be as high in the rankings as are his adversaries, but trust me, he plans on walking out of sin city with as much gold as he collected the last time he came. Need reasons to think that he will? He owns a 13-8 decision over Richard Figueroa, a 6-4 s.v. over Troy Spratley and he's defeated both Matt Ramos & Jore Volk by 8-1 decisions.
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| #9 Greg Diakomihalis Cornell |
I'm not saying anything that everyone doesn't already know. When you mention the name Diakomihalis, most everyone, everywhere thinks of Yianni. That's the way of life. How it is. CKLV this weekend gives Greg the ultimate opportunity to show the wrestling community that Yianni ain't the only Diakomihalis around. Thus far in his career, he owns a 5-3 s.v. over Eddie Ventresca and a 14-3 major decision over Diego Sotelho. The Big Red will need such victories this weekend in Vegas.
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| #10 Brendan McCrone Ohio State |
Brendan McCrone lost two close tough matches last season to finish one match shy of earning a top 8 finish at CKLV. This tournament he looks to earn a medal. He owns an 11-3 major decision over Eddie Ventresca.
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| #12 Eddie Ventresca Virginia Tech |
In many ways, Eddie Ventresca has already redeemed himself this season. I have no idea what was going on with him last year, but thus far in '24-'25, the Hokie looks to be back to his old self. He's been performing very well as of late, 6-0 on the season, with a nice win over Cooper Flynn. With that said, CKLV will be the first real test, to see exactly where Ventresca is at physically and mentally. Against the competition he owns a 5-3 decision over Diakomihalis.
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| #13 Vincent Robinson North Carolina State |
Darrion Caldwell, Tariq Wilson, North Carolina State has a tradition of producing some dynamite tough freshmen that take the NCAA Division I wrestling world by storm. To be honest, my heart goes out to Jakob Camacho. A four time NCAA DI qualifier, going for his fourth ACC title. I'm not sure what is going on with him. He defeated Vincent Robinson 10-2 last year, but like S.E. Hinton says, "That was then, this is now."
Robinson has done nothing but thoroughly impress this season. 11-0 on the year, he's had some very notable wins including a 15-9 decision over Diego Sotelho. Now he gets to test himself against some of the best competition his weight class has to offer. His go for broke, wrestle like your life depends on it style may serve him very well in this environment.
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| #20 Diego Sotelho Harvard |
If you're an avid reader of Johnnythompsonnum1, you know that I'm an advocate for seeing Harvard wrestling return to the heights that it once operated at. I think there's a lot of potential in the Crimson wrestling program and right here, in Diego Sotelho, is the height of that potential. Sotelho has wrestled very well at various times in his career. A match shy of earning a medal here last year, he does own a 5-3 victory over Jore Volk.
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| #24 Max Renteria Oregon State |
Do we have a darkhorse in this bracket? Lay your money down, cause you bet your bottom dollar we do. No one is thinking or worrying much about Max Renteria, but I'm telling you, it'd be a good idea to. He owns a 9-5 win over Richard Figueroa. Then against the rest of the competition he gave Caleb Smith a 4-3 match, Troy Spratley a 7-4 s.v. match & Matt Ramos a 3-2 match. He may be coming into this tournament a top 25 wrestler, but he may be walking out a whole heck of a lot higher than that.
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| #29 Adrian Meza Iowa State |
If you're a true Gambler, the real guess here is what exactly is Coach Dresser going to do? I suppose the Cyclones could send out Kysen Terukina, but since I won' t find out until it's far too late to do a write-up, I'm guessing Adrian Meza. The Cyclone proved himself against an untested Peterson of Iowa & he defeated the best wrestler in the NAIA. Now time to find out how he does against the best wrestlers in the NCAA DI.
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| R.S. Tyler Klinsky Rider |
Tyler Klinsky is currently redshirting and I have no idea whether he'll compete this weekend or not. What I can tell you, is that if he does, he's a contender for a top 8 finish. In a bracket like this, he'd have to wrestle his heart out and leave it all out on the mat, but he's still a contender for a top 8 finish.
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