Going to see some really good wrestling in this bracket. 8 ranked wrestlers, and 6 of them in the top 10. When these matches are taking place, these are the mats you're gonna wanna be watching.
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| #2 Parker Keckeisen Northern Iowa |
3rd-3rd-2nd-1st thus far in the NCAA DI & coming off of having just won his second CKLV title, Parker Keckeisen is the clear favorite to win the Soldier Salute this weekend/Weekstart. With that said, I do think he'll face some his toughest competition of the season. A 13-3 major decision over Gavin Kane & an 8-3 decision, he has defeated Colton Hawks on seven occasions (17-4, 12-2, 7-2, 3-2, 11-3, 7-5 & 6-1).
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| #4 Max McEnelly Minnesota |
Undefeated thus far in his collegiate career, I'm anxious to see Max McEnelly who shared the Soldier Salute title with Isaiah Salazar (who is now up at 197) against the competition within this bracket. He already owns a 9-6 tiebreaker over Bennett Berge, and he owns techs over Colton Hawks 23-6 & Devan Hendricks 23-8.
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| #5 Silas Allred Nebraska |
Having finished R12 at the past two NCAA DI championships, Silas Allred is up there when discussing the best talent in DI yet to All American. When stating earlier that Keckeisen could potentially face some of his toughest competition of the year, Allred is one of the wrestlers I had in mind. Thus far, owns an 8-6 decision over Gavin Kane.
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| #7 Gabe Arnold Iowa |
We're in Iowa City (technically Coralville, but pretty much Iowa City) in a tournament hosted by the University of Iowa. While still an incredible long shot, under the circumstances, within this environment, if anyone can knock off Keckeisen, I would say it'd be Arnold. Funny things happen when a Hawkeye is competing on his home mats in front of his home crowd. A Soldier Salute champ last year at 174, Arnold owns a 5-3 decision over Devan Hendricks.
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| #8 Bennett Berge South Dakota State |
Bennett Berge has time and time again proven to us that he is a tournament wrestler. A first round loss at last year's NCAA DI championships, he came all the way back to place 4th. Upset at CKLV about a month ago, he came all the way back to place 3rd. Among those looking to challenge Keckeisen in the finals, Berge owns three victories over Colton Hawks by scores of 10-6, 4-2 & 5-4.
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| #10 Colton Hawks Missouri |
Among the talent that will be participating in the Soldier Salute this weekend, Colton Hawks was 3rd here a year ago. He owns both a 6-2, as well as a 4-2 decision over Gavin Kane.
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| #14 Evan Bockman Iowa State |
The former Wolverine, now Cyclone earned his third CKLV medal about a month ago, placing 6th. It should be noted that he had to medical forfeit to that 6th place finish, so he might not be 100% this weekend. If 100%, he'll be among those looking for a good finish here at the salute.
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| #18 Gavin Kane North Carolina |
At this point me saying it is redundant, but you know as well as I do that upsets will happen at this tournament like they do any other major tournament. Gavin Kane seems to be in a bit of a slump at the moment, but keep in mind he was an NCAA DI All American in '23. This is a guy that is hard to bet against, even if doing so looks good on paper.
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| R.S. Angelo Ferrari Iowa |
We got a small preview of what Angelo Ferrari is capable of when he scored an impressive 8-2 decision over Evan Bockman in the Iowa Vs Iowa State dual. What else does the young Ferrari have in store for Hawkeye wrestling fans. We'll soon find out this weekend/Weekstart.
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| U.R. Devan Hendricks Bellarmine |
If the Knights are going to have one in "shining armor" that one is going to be Devan Hendricks. He gave Gabe Arnold a very tough match when Iowa dualed Bellarmine, and I can't be the only one wondering if that was an off day for Arnold, an on day for Hendricks, or if Hendricks is for real. Questions asked now, answers given this weekend/Weekstart.
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