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| 174 |
125 through 165, I can narrow it down to two to four guys I think are capable of winning a title here in Vegas. At 174 lbs, things aren't that simple. I think things at this weight class are much more open and this could end up anybody's ball game. Anxious to see who does end up winning the title, who our top 8 place-winners end up being & in what order they end up standing.
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| #3 Simon Ruiz Cornell |
In a tournament that will be fought between Cyclones & Cowboys, the Big Red looks to try and nab a title here at 174 lbs. 4th in Vegas a year ago, Ruiz owns a 4-1 decision over Danny Wask, who is a title contenders in his own right.
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| #8 Danny Wask Navy |
I've said it before & I'm going to keep saying it for the next two seasons. I truly think Danny Wask has the ability to go down as one of the best Navy wrestlers of all time. Everyone has different standards and benchmarks for evaluating "the best" but he's already an All-American. If he can achieve that status two more times, he'll be only the second three time All-American in Navy history, alongside John Reich ('80-4th, '82-3rd, '83-2nd). Peter Blair who won NCAA DI titles in 1954 & 1955 would also be hard to surpass, but I think Wask would then make the case for #3.
You know what else would help Wask to make the case? Winning a CKLV title, and there is certainly reason to think that he can do so. A guy that's gonna 100% all 7 minutes, he has a 12-4 major decision over M.J. Gaitan, an 8-3 decision over Garrett Thompson & a 5-0 decision over Lorenzo Norman. Thus far he's been 4th & 6th in these championships.
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| #10 Garrett Thompson Ohio |
5th & 3rd the past two CKLV championships, add the name Garrett Thompson to the list for potential CKLV champions here at 174 lbs. The uncertainty of this weight highly favors the house. Ruiz likely to be our *1 seed, Thompson owns a 10-7 s.v. over the Big Red.
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| #11 Lorenzo Norman Stanford |
Want yet another CKLV title contender? Here you go. A CKLV finalist last year (& 7th the year prior) Lorenzo Norman gives us plenty of reasons to think he'll be back in the finals again this year. 11-8 over Gaitan, 12-7 over Danny Wask & 10-6 over Garrett Thompson.
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| #13 Beau Mantanona Michigan |
As said in previous weights, I don't see Michigan contending with Iowa State for the team title this year. I really think the team trophy is going home with the Clones, but I can see Michigan having a good team showing. Maybe even contending for third place & if they are to do that, they're going to need some big performances. Beau Mantanona is capable of a big performance.
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| #14 M.J. Gaitan Iowa State |
Are we done with possible CKLV title contenders yet? Uh...no. M.J. Gaitan is yet another name to consider. Owns a 0:37 fall over Brody Conley. (Also wrestled the best he's EVER wrestled recently Vs Iowa's Patrick Kennedy.)
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| #18 Brody Conley West Virginia |
Surely we're doing talking about 174 lbs CKLV title contenders, right? Ha ha...think again. Brody Conley owns a 14-2 major over M.J. Gaitan & a 3-1 decision over Danny Wask.
===
Well, already mentioned eight wrestlers & they're all title contenders as far as I'm concerned.
Any other wrestlers in the mix to possibly pull off upsets & find themselves on the award stand?
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| U.R. Daschle Lamer Oregon State |
Lamer was one match from placing here last year and definitely strikes me as the type to be in the R12 match once again.
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| U.R. Nick Fine Columbia |
There's a lot of super tough talent in this bracket, & for a guy like Nick Fine to find his way onto the award stand would take some high-profile upsets. I wouldn't list him if he wasn't capable of doing just that.
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| U.R. Cael Valencia Arizona State |
Pinned by Brody Conley in 4:46.
Pinned in 0:50 by Beau Mantanona
Lost an 8-4 dec to M.J. Gaitan
Is there any logical reason I put Cael Valencia's name on the list of plausible CKLV place-winner candidates? No, there isn't.
And that's the point.
That's the kind of wrestler he is.
Cael Valencia will give you every reason in the world to bet against him. He'll make sure in any given situation that the odds are so far stacked against him anyone would be a fool to bet on him. Then like he did at the PAC-12's in both 2023 & 2024, he'll win matches you never thought he'd win.
Now that I said this he'll go 0-2.
Had I not written anything & not called it...."Cael Valencia with the upset of the tournament!!"
Seems to never fail...
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