Parity in college wrestling is nothing new. I started watching wrestling in the '91-'92 season & it existed then. However, I have to say '25-'26, especially in the smaller conferences parity is like Hulkamania in the 80's! It is runnin' wild! Of course, some weight classes have a clear favorite but others? Flip a damn coin.
Only the champions emerge here in the Southern Conference & that makes it even more fun. You ever take a piece of lunch meat and drop it in the middle of a dozen Boxers? Yeah, some of the weights will look like something close to that.
 |
| #27 Cooper Flynn Chattanooga 125 |
A two-time NCAA DI qualifier, one qualification for Virginia Tech & another for Minnesota, Cooper Flynn will be looking for qualification #3, this time representing Chattanooga. Undefeated within the conference, the Moc is 15-4 overall. I can't see anyone challenging him & I'm confident he will be our SOCON champion.
 |
| #16 T.K. Davis Gardner Webb 133 |
A champion last year & 21-1 on the year, sophomore T.K. Davis is looking like he's going to be our 2026 SOCON champ. Like Cooper Flynn at 125, I can't see anyone challenging him this weekend.
 |
| 141 |
Welcome to the Belko Experiment. A.J. Rallo was an NCAA DI qualifier last season, but if he wants to make it back to the dance in 2026, he has a heck of a bracket ahead of him. The Knight is 20-8 on the year, needing sudden victory to get past both Aldo Hernandez & Dayson Dunham. Mason Hunter, a transfer of Virginia Tech is 19-7 on the year, with a 6-3 win over Rallo. He also owns a 3-2 decision over Dom DiTullio & a 6-4 decision over Hernandez.
DiTullio also owns a win over Rallo, by a score of 7-5. A 9-6 s.v. over Dunham.
Hernandez has 16 wins on the season, an 8-4 win over DiTullio.
Dunham, an NCAA DI qualifier in 2024, has a 4-3 win over Hernandez.
 |
| 149 |
With one ranked wrestler & a returning Southern Conference champion, you wouldn't think that 149 would be as open as 141, but it is.
Kaden Keiser is our ranked wrestler. He has some nice wins outside of the conference, but with so few At-Large Wildcards available, I can't see the SOCON getting one if he were to take 2nd. 24-9 on the year, owns a 3-2 tiebreaker over Carson DesRosier & a 4-2 decision over Jordan.
DesRosier is only 12-10 on the year, batting just above .500. Yet he was the SOCON champ last year & that cannot be overlooked. Come SOCON time, you know the Bulldog will be ready to go.
17-9 on the year Anderson Heap, decided to turn on the heat right at the tail end of the regular season. A 4-1 s.v. over Keiser & a 5-2 s.v. over DesRosier, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he took the *1 seed. And to be very honest, I cannot remember the last time Davidson had a *1 seed.
Patrick Jordan? 12-10 on the year, same as DesRosier. Owns an 8-5 s.v. over Heap & a 7-5 decision over DesRosier. Saw him compete at the Soldier Salute & definitely had a go for broke style of wrestling. That doesn't always translate into success, but in a situation like this, it might. So much on the line, guys can wrestle conservatively & close up.
 |
| 157 |
Some are going to be upset with JT1Wrestle for not including more names, but I feel the quest for SOCON gold will come down to one of three wrestlers.
Kyrel Leavell is 17-9 on the year, a 9-6 s.v. over Tanner Peake & a 10-4 decision over Joe Giordano.
Peake 15-11, is yet another hope for the Wildcats to send someone to Cleveland. Owns a 5-4 decision over Leavell.
Giordano 13-11, owns a 4-1 win over Peake.
 |
| #27 Tom Snipes The Citadel 165 |
Unlike Cooper Flynn at 125 and T.K. Davis at 133, I do not think Tom Snipes is a shoe-in to win 165 lbs. I do think he is the odds on favorite, but I do think he'll have some stiff competition. Not ignoring a recent 3-2 tiebreaker loss, I still think it is likely that his finals opponent will be Noah Hall. Snipes defeated Hall 2-1 earlier this year. Snipes is 22-5 on the year & was last year's SOCON champion.
*NOTE* - I DO think that Anthony Ferrari would be in line to challenge Noah Hall in a probable semi-final, thus maybe putting himself in a position to challenge Snipes for a SOCON title. However, we haven't seen Ferrari in action since Jan 17th. He had a pretty good Southern Scuffle & then whamo, eat your heart out Harry Houdini, poof, he was gone. I'm not even sure if he's on the Campbell roster any longer.
 |
| #31 Tomas Brooker Appalachian State 184 |
23-8 on the year & an NCAA DI qualifier in 2024, I feel pretty confident that Tomas Brooker will be our 2026 SOCON champ.
 |
| Kade Rule Chattanooga 197 |
15-5 on the year, and undefeated in the conference, I believe rookie Kade Rule will be our champion at 197.
 |
| HWT |
With a recent 7-3 decision over Daulton Mayer, a 2025 SOCON champion, Stephan Monchery is once again the favorite to win a title in 2026. With that said, Daulton Mayer is a dangerous wrestler. It only took him 39 seconds to pin Monchery in a match last season. Mayer was 3rd at last year's SOCON.
No comments:
Post a Comment