9 ranked wrestlers, HWT could end up the most fun of all the weight classes here at the Southern Scuffle! How are things gonna shape up? Let's see!
Lucas Cochran lost an official 3-1 decision to teammate Cole Mirasola at the Black Knight Invitational back in November. Does this mean that the spot is officially Mirasola's come BIG 10's? I don't know. What I can tell you is that Mirasola won the Scuffle title a year ago. I can also tell you that I'm gonna guess that Sanderson sends Cochran instead of Mirasola this year for the simple fact that at the time being Cochran is the reserve. To give you an idea of what Cochran is capable of this tournament, this is a guy with wins such as Yaraslau Slavikouski, All-American.
HWT in the Scuffle is full of a lot of good talent & I for one am anxious to see how it all unfolds this weekend. Jimmy Mullen has the highest rank of anyone that will be competing in this bracket. Will that still be the case once the tournament is a said & done thing?
One of the things I'm most impatiently anticipating is exactly what Army is going to do at 285 lbs. Brady Colbert was 3rd here a year ago, but guess what? Lucas Stoddard is a two-time Southern Scuffle runner-up. You'd think with Colbert currently holding the ranking, that he'd get the nod on the start, but I'm not thinking much of anything until I see it on paper. These types of situations are tricky & I can see a Coaching staff making a decision either way. Both of these guys a high place-winner candidates.
I suppose I could also include Brad Hill as I speak of Juan Mora. Hill after all was 7th here a year ago, competing at 197 lbs. However, I'm pretty sure that Mora has more or less cemented himself as the Sooner HWT for '25-'26 & I think we'll see him in action this weekend.
Like I said before in some of the other analyses that I've done on the other weights, all things considered, it is rewarding to see the Blue Devils of Duke have success on the mat. Connor Barkett was 7th here a year ago & I ask myself, can he make the finals among this competition?
Before the start of the tournament, it is hard for me to separate the rest of the ranked talent, because as of right now (might feel very differently post tournament) they're all pretty much in the same boat. None of them has faced one another yet & they're all ranked rather closely to one another. All strong candidates for a top 8 finish.
And of course, there will be some unranked talent looking to make some noise as well! I'm excited this tournament because I think this will be a time for Monday to show that he is doing something in Baltimore & while it may take some more time, efforts are being made to rebuild the restored program. Doolin was 6th here a year ago.
This kid can't seem to catch much of a break. Anytime he does something exciting or noteworthy, it either gets ignored or dismissed as being less of an accomplishment than what it actually is. Yet he loses a match that he shouldn't, and the rankers are all over that. He was 8th here a year ago & at worst I see him finishing at least top 12 year once again.
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| (Reserve) Lucas Cochran Penn State |
Lucas Cochran lost an official 3-1 decision to teammate Cole Mirasola at the Black Knight Invitational back in November. Does this mean that the spot is officially Mirasola's come BIG 10's? I don't know. What I can tell you is that Mirasola won the Scuffle title a year ago. I can also tell you that I'm gonna guess that Sanderson sends Cochran instead of Mirasola this year for the simple fact that at the time being Cochran is the reserve. To give you an idea of what Cochran is capable of this tournament, this is a guy with wins such as Yaraslau Slavikouski, All-American.
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| #14 Jimmy Mullen Virginia Tech |
HWT in the Scuffle is full of a lot of good talent & I for one am anxious to see how it all unfolds this weekend. Jimmy Mullen has the highest rank of anyone that will be competing in this bracket. Will that still be the case once the tournament is a said & done thing?
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| #18 Brady Colbert Or Lucas Stoddard Army |
One of the things I'm most impatiently anticipating is exactly what Army is going to do at 285 lbs. Brady Colbert was 3rd here a year ago, but guess what? Lucas Stoddard is a two-time Southern Scuffle runner-up. You'd think with Colbert currently holding the ranking, that he'd get the nod on the start, but I'm not thinking much of anything until I see it on paper. These types of situations are tricky & I can see a Coaching staff making a decision either way. Both of these guys a high place-winner candidates.
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| #22 Juan Mora Oklahoma |
I suppose I could also include Brad Hill as I speak of Juan Mora. Hill after all was 7th here a year ago, competing at 197 lbs. However, I'm pretty sure that Mora has more or less cemented himself as the Sooner HWT for '25-'26 & I think we'll see him in action this weekend.
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| #24 Connor Barkett Duke |
Like I said before in some of the other analyses that I've done on the other weights, all things considered, it is rewarding to see the Blue Devils of Duke have success on the mat. Connor Barkett was 7th here a year ago & I ask myself, can he make the finals among this competition?
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| The rest of the ranked talent |
Before the start of the tournament, it is hard for me to separate the rest of the ranked talent, because as of right now (might feel very differently post tournament) they're all pretty much in the same boat. None of them has faced one another yet & they're all ranked rather closely to one another. All strong candidates for a top 8 finish.
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| U.R. Xavier Doolin Morgan State |
And of course, there will be some unranked talent looking to make some noise as well! I'm excited this tournament because I think this will be a time for Monday to show that he is doing something in Baltimore & while it may take some more time, efforts are being made to rebuild the restored program. Doolin was 6th here a year ago.
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| U.R. Daulton Mayer Bellarmine |
This kid can't seem to catch much of a break. Anytime he does something exciting or noteworthy, it either gets ignored or dismissed as being less of an accomplishment than what it actually is. Yet he loses a match that he shouldn't, and the rankers are all over that. He was 8th here a year ago & at worst I see him finishing at least top 12 year once again.
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