If we were to sit down and count every head, to this day I'd still wager that the biggest fan base in collegiate wrestling is still the Iowa Hawkeyes. The little over 5,000 seat Xtreme arena will be made up of a very large percentage of black & gold fans. With that said, another marquee value within this tournament is phenom Gable Steveson & it's more along the lines of who can go the longest with him, more than it is any hope of anyone defeating him.
At this point the analogy is Superman Vs mortal men and not a single one of them has any kryptonite. We haven't had this much of "sure thing" since Cael Sanderson's senior season of '01-'02 & even then, we had a small atom of doubt within our minds, considering that Jon Trenge had given Sanderson a 6-1 match earlier in the season. There are some good wrestlers in this bracket, but I can't see any of them giving Steveson much trouble.
As of the time this was written, Yonger Bastida was out with injury & Dan Herrera is the starter with the ranking. With that said, by the time this is released, Bastida could be back in the lineup & the one with the ranking. I also know that if healthy, Bastida is the most likely candidate to make the Soldier Salute finals & a healthy Bastida also stands the best shot against Gable Steveson out of all the candidates that will be participating. Against the competition, Bastida owns a 7-2 decision over Ben Keuter and he's defeated Bennett Tabor 18-3 technical fall & via fall 1:50.
Ben Keuter gave Yonger Bastida a tough match at Carver Hawkeye Arena where the Cyclone escaped a couple of "in danger" situations, using his experience to ultimately prevail in a 7-2 decision. Bastida has been battling injuries & if he does compete here, I'm not sure if he'll be 100%. Against a formidable opponent like Keuter, you're going to want to be 100%. It's not completely out of line to think the Hawkeye could upset the future Cuban World & Olympic medalist, if he's at full capacity. Therefore the idea that he could upset him if he's at say 3/4's is definitely not out of the question. Hawkeye fans have a lot of high hopes and expectations, as they should for this very talented young man. I include him in my thoughts of those that could make the Soldier Salute finals come Monday. He owns a 5-3 decision over Bennett Tabor.
If you've been paying attention this season, how can you not be thoroughly impressed by Lance Runyon? I can't remember anyone going up this many weight classes, and doing as well as he's been doing. This guy was a 174 lbs'er & now he's competing at HWT! I mean think about that. Technically he could be wrestling guys 100 lbs heavier than what he was used to! The Panther was hunting deer, and now he's hunting elephants, hippos and rhinos. 7th at CKLV about a month ago, Runyon owns a 7-2 decision over Luke Rasmussen, a 6-1 decision over Seth Nitzel & a 2-0 decision over Dan Herrera.
A tough young replacement for two-time All American Zach Elam, Seth Nitzel has won some important matches, but he hasn't defeated anyone of notable significance that he'll face here yet. This will be an opportunity to do so.
Another tough young HWT, Harley Andrews recently picked up an 8th place finish in Vegas about a month ago. He also owns a 10-7 victory over Bennett Tabor.
A Soldier Salute runner-up last season, Luke Rasmussen has slipped a bit in the rankings since the beginning of '24-'25. This weekend/Weekstart presents itself an opportunity for the Jackrabbit to climb back up. He owns a 17-13 decision over Seth Nitzel.
We haven't seen a whole heck of a lot out of Dan Herrera yet, and this weekend/Weekstart gives us an opportunity to see what we can expect at HWT for the Cyclones in '25-'26 after Bastida uses up all of his eligibility.
Here's the thing. Bennett Tabor is a good wrestler. Matter of fact, he was the Soldier Salute champion last year! It's simply that he has what is arguably the greatest collegiate HWT of all time in front of him in the lineup. Don't kid yourself, Tabor will be a tough match for a lot of wrestlers this weekend/Weekstart. The Golden Gopher owns both a 7-2 & a 9-7 decision over Luke Rasmussen.
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| #1 Gable Steveson Minnesota |
At this point the analogy is Superman Vs mortal men and not a single one of them has any kryptonite. We haven't had this much of "sure thing" since Cael Sanderson's senior season of '01-'02 & even then, we had a small atom of doubt within our minds, considering that Jon Trenge had given Sanderson a 6-1 match earlier in the season. There are some good wrestlers in this bracket, but I can't see any of them giving Steveson much trouble.
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| B.U. Younger Bastida Iowa State |
As of the time this was written, Yonger Bastida was out with injury & Dan Herrera is the starter with the ranking. With that said, by the time this is released, Bastida could be back in the lineup & the one with the ranking. I also know that if healthy, Bastida is the most likely candidate to make the Soldier Salute finals & a healthy Bastida also stands the best shot against Gable Steveson out of all the candidates that will be participating. Against the competition, Bastida owns a 7-2 decision over Ben Keuter and he's defeated Bennett Tabor 18-3 technical fall & via fall 1:50.
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| #12 Ben Keuter Iowa |
Ben Keuter gave Yonger Bastida a tough match at Carver Hawkeye Arena where the Cyclone escaped a couple of "in danger" situations, using his experience to ultimately prevail in a 7-2 decision. Bastida has been battling injuries & if he does compete here, I'm not sure if he'll be 100%. Against a formidable opponent like Keuter, you're going to want to be 100%. It's not completely out of line to think the Hawkeye could upset the future Cuban World & Olympic medalist, if he's at full capacity. Therefore the idea that he could upset him if he's at say 3/4's is definitely not out of the question. Hawkeye fans have a lot of high hopes and expectations, as they should for this very talented young man. I include him in my thoughts of those that could make the Soldier Salute finals come Monday. He owns a 5-3 decision over Bennett Tabor.
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| #16 Lance Runyon Northern Iowa |
If you've been paying attention this season, how can you not be thoroughly impressed by Lance Runyon? I can't remember anyone going up this many weight classes, and doing as well as he's been doing. This guy was a 174 lbs'er & now he's competing at HWT! I mean think about that. Technically he could be wrestling guys 100 lbs heavier than what he was used to! The Panther was hunting deer, and now he's hunting elephants, hippos and rhinos. 7th at CKLV about a month ago, Runyon owns a 7-2 decision over Luke Rasmussen, a 6-1 decision over Seth Nitzel & a 2-0 decision over Dan Herrera.
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| #19 Seth Nitzel Missouri |
A tough young replacement for two-time All American Zach Elam, Seth Nitzel has won some important matches, but he hasn't defeated anyone of notable significance that he'll face here yet. This will be an opportunity to do so.
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| #24 Harley Andrews Nebraska |
Another tough young HWT, Harley Andrews recently picked up an 8th place finish in Vegas about a month ago. He also owns a 10-7 victory over Bennett Tabor.
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| #26 Luke Rasmussen South Dakota State |
A Soldier Salute runner-up last season, Luke Rasmussen has slipped a bit in the rankings since the beginning of '24-'25. This weekend/Weekstart presents itself an opportunity for the Jackrabbit to climb back up. He owns a 17-13 decision over Seth Nitzel.
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| #27 Dan Herrera Iowa State |
We haven't seen a whole heck of a lot out of Dan Herrera yet, and this weekend/Weekstart gives us an opportunity to see what we can expect at HWT for the Cyclones in '25-'26 after Bastida uses up all of his eligibility.
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| B.U. Bennett Tabor Minnesota |
Here's the thing. Bennett Tabor is a good wrestler. Matter of fact, he was the Soldier Salute champion last year! It's simply that he has what is arguably the greatest collegiate HWT of all time in front of him in the lineup. Don't kid yourself, Tabor will be a tough match for a lot of wrestlers this weekend/Weekstart. The Golden Gopher owns both a 7-2 & a 9-7 decision over Luke Rasmussen.
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