Bison Open Preview (11-12-2022)

 

North Dakota State started off the wrestling season with a huge win over Nebraska and now they are holding an open this weekend. As it has been in years past, it looks to be pretty good with some great potential matches bound to happen. 

125 lbs

Pat McKee of Minnesota returns looking for another Bison Open title & I don't think he's going to have much if any trouble securing it. As to who his finals opponent will be? Don't know for sure but I do believe Tanner Jordan of South Dakota State could very well be it. 

133 lbs 

Excited to see if one of the top wrestlers in NCAA Division II can hang with some notable talent in NCAA Division I.  Reece Barnhardt of Mary, 4th in the NCAA DII championships last season will get his chance to tango in the waters of DI this weekend. Exactly where he will finish, I do not know but I do predict a top six showing.  Minnesota's Aaron Nagao is the top ranked wrestler in the weight with South Dakota State's Gabriel Tagg not far behind.  Yet let's not forget it was Minnesota's Jake Gliva who won the championship last season.  Also in the mix here will be Jager Eisch of Minnesota & McGwire Midkiff of North Dakota State. 

141 lbs 

I absolutely love weight classes like these. All four of the top four place-winners from last season are back & all four of these guys know one another quite well. May I also add that three of the four are ranked in the top 10 & the other is one of the very best backups in the entire nation. South Dakota State's Clay Carlson looks to be in pretty good condition to defend his title. Over all he is 3-1 against Minnesota's Jake Bergeland & an incredible 8-0 against North Dakota State's Dylan Drogemueller.  Where we may see some changes of position is with Marcos Polanco of Minnesota. 4th here a year ago, he took Drogemueller to a 3-2 decision & Bergeland into sudden victory.  What a statement it'd be for him, finishing ahead of two All Americans if he were to win a title. 

149 lbs 

This time it is the NAIA that gets an opportunity to shine among the NCAA Division I talent. 2022 NAIA runner-up Martin Wilkie has the opportunity to see what he can do against Minnesota's Mike Blockhus & last year's runner-up Kellyn March of North Dakota State. Is anyone besides me getting a little Emmett Wilson vibe? 

157 lbs 

It was heartbreaking to see the season end on such a sour note for Minnesota's Brayton Lee last season. Yet many think despite his injury that he'll be back better than ever this season. We'll certainly find out here as he'll have familiar opponent Jared Franek of North Dakota State to contend with. Lee defeated Franek for a Bison Open title last season 6-4 sudden victory.  In other news, look for a possible top six showing out of Mary's Braydon Huber. 

165 lbs 

If prior results and ranking have anything to do with how this one will be seeded, then our top seed without question will be North Dakota State's Mike Caliendo.  He owns an 8-4 victory over our likely #2 seed Tanner Cook of South Dakota State. Cook owns a 3:52 fall over Andrew Sparks of Minnesota & Sparks owns a 5-3 decision over Carlson.  Much like Polanco, Carlson has a great opportunity to show the nation that he is one of the best backups in the entire country. 

174 lbs 

It'll be one heck of a task, but I believe here both the NAIA & NCAA Division II have an opportunity to prove themselves against DI talent.  Nakoda Siegel of Montana State Northern who was 5th in the NAIA's last season, along with NCAA DII qualifier Max Bruss of Mary will contend for a top six showing.  

Once again a Golden Gopher has the opportunity to show just how deep the Minnesota lineup is. Jared Krattiger won this tournament last season, but it should be noted that his championship victory was via medical forfeit. Later in the dual, DeVos actually beat Krattiger by a score of 6-1.  DeVos also owns victories over Bailee O'Reilly with 9-2 & 3-2 decisions.  This will be a fun weight. 

184 lbs 

We have a three man race to the title here at 184 lbs.  Isaiah Salazar of Minnesota may be the returning champion with the highest ranking, but he's got his hands full with both South Dakota State's Cade King & North Dakota State's D.J. Parker.  The last he and Parker met, he squeaked by with a 4-3 victory.  As to the probable semi final between King & Parker? It'll be the rubber match.  Parker owns a 6-1 victory & King owns a 5-4 victory. 

197 lbs 

Now here's where things get interesting. We have our rankings but we also have our results.  Parity as if often does in our great sport, lingers its ugly head.  Isaiah Salazar owns a 9-3 victory over Tanner Sloan of South Dakota State.  Yet Owen Pentz of North Dakota State has a 4:07 fall against Salazar. Sloan meanwhile has absolutely owned Pentz every time he's stepped on the mat with him. An 8-0 major, a 16-1 technical fall & a 5:25 fall. For the record Garrett Joles, Salazar's backup (imagine that, talking about another Golden, Golden Gopher backup) owns a 4:52 fall against Pentz. Among all this confusion, I still think that Mary's Matt Kaylor, representing NCAA DII can find his way to a top six finish. 

HWT 

When I first started thinking about the Bison Open I was also positive we'd get to see another classic battle between South Dakota State's A.J. Nevills & North Dakota State's Brandon Metz.  Yet after watching Juan Mora in action against Nebraska this weekend, I'm not so sure. He looked really good.  Nevertheless shall Nevills & Metz meet again it'd be the fourth meeting between the Jackrabbit & the Bison.  Metz owns a 1:52 fall against a 1-0 decision & a 3-2 tiebreaker. 

Bearcat Open Preview (11-13-22)

 

Some pretty good wrestling to take place at this year's Johnathan Kaloust Bearcat Open. The tournament held in honor of the former Navy Seal should teams send their full squads will have ranked wrestlers at every weight. 

Picture Guide 
Rank & Name
School Name
Place They Took Here Last Season 

125 lbs

West Virginia All American Killian Cardinale looks to be the forerunner for this weight class, although the challenges presented could be tougher on the mat than what they are on paper. Although it was a rather long time ago, Cornell's Dom LaJoie does own a 9-7 victory over the Mountaineer.  We also could get a glimpse of Northern Colorado's Stevo Poulin against his first go against someone of top 10 competition. I'd also look to Binghamton's own Micah Roes for a top six finish. 

133 lbs 

If he enters this tournament I would think that Cornell's Vitali Arujau takes the gold here without much of an issue. Silver seems in line for Northern Colorado's Jace Koelzer but I wouldn't put an upset past Binghamton's Anthony Sobotker.  He's been known to upend higher ranked wrestlers before & he has an uncanny ability to put opponents to their back. Then there is also Franklin & Marshall's Pat Phillips who came out of nowhere this past weekend to take a runner-up finish at the Southeast Open.  Lastly look for a top six showing out of Navy's Tyler Hunt. 

141 lbs 

Don't see much of a challenge standing in the way of Northern Colorado's Andrew Alirez taking a title here.  Josh Koderhandt of Navy by all means should be his finals opponent.  I believe the fight for 3rd will be between two young grapplers, Cornell's Josh Saunders & West Virginia's Jordan Titus. 

149 lbs 

Are we going to get lucky enough to see Yianni Diakomihalis this early into the season? I'd wager to say probably not. We didn't see him until towards the latter half of November last season & I highly doubt we see him here. Nevertheless if he does show up, it'd make leaving him off of the preview pretty stupid. So I always error of the side of "treat them as if they WILL be there."  If for some reason he does decide to compete here, it'll be for conditioning purposes. He'll easily major, tech or pin his way though the competition.  The question is, who wins this bracket if Diakomihalis is not here? 

I'd say the guy with the most to prove here is West Virginia's Sam Hillegas. He recently lost his varsity spot to teammate Jeff Boyd in a 4-3 wrestle-off loss. He could easily gain his spot as well as his status back by coming in here and taking the tournament.  Easier said than done as Boyd won't be the only one looking to knock him off. You also have their other teammate Brayden Roberts as well as Navy's Christian Hodges, all of whom are looking to make a name for themselves. A title here would do it. 

157 lbs 

Last season we were treated to a fantastic final between Navy's Andrew Cerniglia & Cornell's Colton Yapoujian, won by Cerniglia in a 7-5 decision. It is likely to be our final once again.  As to third place, I see a battle between West Virginia teammates Alex Hornfeck & Caleb Downing. Downing recently downed Hornfect 5-3 in the wrestle-off as the battle for varsity continues. 

165 lbs 

I believe our final here will be between Cornell's Julian Ramirez & West Virginia's Peyton Hall. I expect it will be one of the best matches of the tournament, if of course both wrestlers enter this tournament.  Navy's Val Park could go up to 174, but I have heard that he'll be at 165. Another Midshipmen in the hunt for a top six showing is Henry Hague Jr & I'm also anxious to see how Northern Colorado's Baylor Fernandes will fare. 

174 lbs 

Binghamton's Brevin Cassella has his work cut out for him if he wants to add another Bearcat Open title to his resume.  If Cornell's Chris Foca enters this tournament, Cassella is likely to be the #2 seed.  Also in the hunt to make the finals depending on who is on the opposite side of Foca will be Northern Colorado's Andrew Berreyesa & Navy's Sammy Starr. 

184 lbs 

Four ranked wrestlers & three returning place-winners, 184 lbs will be one of our more competitive weight classes.  Cornell's Jonathan Loew, last year's champion is the forerunner to once again win a title.  If seeds hold to rankings, I would think the semi between Binghamton's Jacob Nolan & Navy's David Key would be quite good. Then again Key may have to get past West Virginia's Anthony Carman before he need worry about Nolan.  I'd also look for Hunter Johns of Navy to perhaps pull off an upset or two. He did after all make the finals here last season. 

197 lbs 

The top three place-winners return & they are likely to once again be our top three place-winners.  Binghamton's Louie DePrez edged Cornell's Jacob Cardenas 3-2 in the finals of last year's championships. Navy's Jake Koser who is likely to be the #3 seed, might actually be better off as the #4. In the parity that is wrestling, he's struggled against Cardenas losing 9-4 & 8-2 decisions. Yet he's fared much better in recent meetings with DePrez. While DePrez does own a 12-2 victory over him, he's also wrestled the Bearcat to 4-2 s.v. & 6-5 losses.  Lastly look for Franklin & Marshall's John Crawford to earn the Diplomats another top six finish. 

HWT 

If I had to guess who our top six place-winners will be, here are my guesses.  I think Lewis Fernandes of Cornell is likely to be our champion.  While he hasn't wrestled everyone in this group, he does own a 10-0 major decision over Grady Griess of Navy.  West Virginia's Michael Wolfgram is the likely candidate for a place in the finals opposite Fernandes but I tell you the guy I'm keeping an eye on this tournament is Franklin & Marshall's Vincenzo Pelusi. He has added a ton of muscle over the summer & on his resume already are wins over Wolfgram as well as Navy's Ryan Catka.  Could be some big surprises in our biggest weight class. 

JT#1's Notes, Thoughts & Observations for Week 1 & 2 of The 2023 Collegiate Wrestling Season!

 Ah!!!!!!!  Holy Cow, only two weeks into the collegiate wrestling season and already a TON has happened!!  Where does one even start?  Well, let's take a look. 

TENACITY - Sometimes things aren't always going to go your way & you have to figure out ways to bounce back from disappointments.  York's (NE) Harley Williamson suffered a tough loss to Hunter Bennett of Doane in a dual  & came right back to win the York Open. 

An All American Loses His Spot - There were actually a lot of surprises in this year's wrestle-off results, but I think this one takes the cake.  I highly doubt the saga between Bryce Hepner & Carson Kharchla is over.  Whoever ends up being the starter come BIG 10 tournament time will have to earn the spot more than once. Yet for right now, Hepner is the man & Kharchla sits backup. 

How Bout Them Clones? - Did the Iowa State Cyclones step it up a notch this weekend or what? They keep wrestling like that, the Hawks better start worrying about Ames as much as they do State College. Man did they look good this weekend.  Kysen Terukina with a hard fought 9-7 s.v. over two time All American Eric Barett. Zach Redding nearly majoring All American Taylor LaMont.  Casey Swiderski taking it to Austin Gomez 9-4 & Sam Schuyler pulling out a very nice 3-2 victory over Trent Hillger. They keep showing up like this, who knows what's in store for the Cardinal and gold? 

Don't Forget Army!! - They had some individuals look pretty good this weekend too. It's often easy to get overlooked and overshadowed, but let's point out that Ethan Berginc defeated All American Brandon Kaylor 3-1 s.v. & Dalton Harris had a very nice 5-1 victory over Matt Olguin. 

Guilty As Charged - Virginia Tech's Tom Crook is apparently appropriately named. He went into the Southeast Open and completely stole the spotlight from fellow freshman Lachlan McNeil of North Carolina. The Florida native defeated EIWA champ Matt Kazimir 3-1 in the quarter-finals, McNeil 3-2 in the semis & Virginia NCAA qualifier Dylan Cedano 7-3 in the finals. 

Man on Fire - Did you check out Will Feldkamp at the Clarion Open?  In one of the tougher brackets of the championships he kept one of those bracket sheets at home in fashion.  A major decision followed up by three falls. 

Rookie of the Year - Way too soon to be thinking of that sort of thing, but if Ohio State's Jesse Mendez keeps wrestling as he has, he'll certainly be in contention.  Very nice win over two time All American Lucas Byrd of Illinois to win his first Michigan State Open. 

Up a Weight? No problem - Zach Braunagel proved this weekend that he's already adjusted to 197 lbs weight class just fine.  A Michigan State Open title with a 4:20 fall over All American Gavin Hoffman of Ohio State in the finals. 

UPDATE!!! They have been found - Been wondering for a long time what became of 2021 NCAA Division II champion Abner Romero. Discovered this weekend that he is now competing for St Cloud State. Looking good as he won a Yellow Jacket title.  Also found out where Riley Smucker has been hiding. The former Cleveland State Viking is now at Life where he took a runner-up finish at the Patriot Open this weekend. 

NCWA In The House -  Both Washington State & Liberty had excellent representation this weekend as the Cougar NCWA program participated in Eastern Oregon Mountain Open & the Flame NCWA program participated in the Messiah Invite.  Washington State had six place-winners & Liberty not only had five place-winners but also a champion. 

=== 

Here's to week 3!! 

Racich Rumble Preview (11-12-22)

 

Often buried beneath a fixation with local high school wrestling & the fascination with NCAA Division I, east coast NCAA Division III wrestling is an assortment of talent that often goes overlooked. This upcoming weekend we have a great tournament held at Ursinus College with some of the best DIII teams from Pennsylvania, Massachusetts & New York. 


Picture Guide
Ranking (D3wrestle) & Name
School Name
(Place taken at this tournament last season)
*What seed I would give them 

125 lbs 

A competitive weight that returns four of the six place-winners from last season.  I think based on ranking & results that our #1 seed here should be Wilkes' Austin Fashour. He has a convincing 11-5 victory over Terry Adams of Ursinus & he's beaten Alvernia's Keito Shaw twice, along with a fall over Delaware Valley's Ryan Kelly. Even though York's (PA) Jared Kuhns won this tournament last season, I give Fashouer the nod due to not only the higher ranking but also being an NCAA DIII qualifier last season.  Kuhns the #2 over Adams the #3 based on a head to head 5-2 decision.  Shaw I believe is our clear #4 as with losses to Kuhns & Adams, he has victories over Kelly and Merwin. I will note that his match with Adams was a close 5-4 decision.  It may seem odd to put Kelly who was runner-up here last season all the way down at #5 but head to head on paper he is the fifth best wrestler here.  As to who I'd put as the #6 seed? Not sure but while I do think I have a clear grip (if these are the wrestlers that enter the tournament of course) on our first five place winners, I think the battle for sixth place will be between NYU's Benny Bautista, SUNY-Cortland's Cody Merwin & WPI's Tanner Thatcher. 

133 lbs 

A champion here last season & 3rd in the NCAA Division III championships, Dalton Rohrbaugh of York (PA) ought to add another Racich Rumble title to his resume without much effort. Jayden Cardenas of SUNY-Cortland may give him a match in the finals, but I would suspect he'll walk through the quarters & the semis.  NYU's Nick Kruczynski was 4th here last season at a different weight class & it'll be interesting to see how he does at 133.  Last season Romeo Rodriguez of Ursinus forfeited to Nick Germano in the 5th place match. Hopefully everyone stays healthy this tournament & if the two meet again, may we actually see the match. 

141 lbs 

No ranked wrestlers, but I predict a fun & exciting final between Alvernia's Quinn Tobin & WPI's Chris Cook. Both wrestlers were 3rd in these championships last season, with Cook down at 133 lbs. As I say this, I am well aware that Cook could potentially have his hands full with teammate Zach Rioux in a potential semi-final. I would like to see a good showing out of 2021 NCAA DIII qualifier Asa Brunk of Messiah, but at this point I can't see him any higher than 4th place. Rioux has pinned him & Tobin owns both a fall & a tech fall over him.  Another place-winner I see in this bracket is Ryan Burbacher of SUNY-Cortland. 

149 lbs 

I can definitely see this being a very competitive weight class.  As far as potential seeds, this was not an easy one to think through. There's a lot to take into consideration here & with results & parity, it can make the task quite difficult. Personally considering that Jared Bair of York (PA) won the tournament last season & has decisive victories over both Jason Rezac of Alvernia & Anthony Chavez of NYU, that puts him up towards the top. Yet, a 7-0 victory for SUNY-Cortland's Kyle Klien over Bair cannot be ignored either, thus giving him the #1 seed I would think. 

Now Elizabethtown's Shane Strausser does own a 3:54 fall over Rezac, but he's also lost 9-0 to him & he has a loss by fall to Chavez in 6:48. Thus why I gave the #3 seed to Rezac, the #4 to Chavez & the #5 to Strausser. It could work out much differently, but this is my logic. 

I would look to Chandler Merwin of SUNY-Cortland to perhaps be a bracket breaker & another one to look out for here would be Elizabethtown's Dorian Gonzalez. 

157 lbs 

This is going to be a fun weight class. A lot of unexpected things could happen here.  I believe our top two seeds with be Messiah's Garret Cornell & NYU's Trent Furman. Even though Furman has a ranking & Cornell does not, I give Cornell the nod above Furman for two reasons. A, he placed 2nd to Furman's 3rd here last season. B, he was 5th at the 2021 NCAA DIII championships, compared to Furman's best finish, R12 last year. Either way regardless of who you give the #1 & who you give the #2, it is likely to be our finals & I think it's going to be a great match. 

Shawn Marchesano of Ursinus I give the #3 seed.  He was 4th here last season.  Some may point to his 8-3 loss to Johns Hopkins Chris Roybal who I have seeded #5. Keep in mind that he also owns a 15-14 victory over Roybal & Roybal has a 6-4 loss to WPI's Tommy Dell'Aera who I have seeded #4.  I want to add in that should Marchesano & Furman meet in the semi-finals as I predict, it could very well turn out to be a great match. The last time the two met, Furman took a 7-4 decision. 

The guy I think to potentially watch for here could very well be Alvernia's Robert Lawlor. Although he was pinned in only 46 seconds by WPI's Edward Hay, he gave Marchesano a very tough match in a 4-3 loss. 

165 lbs 

Two of the best wrestlers in NCAA DIII will be in this bracket.  Matt Lackman of Alvernia who placed 5th at last year's national tournament & Cooper Pontelandolfo of NYU who placed 6th. Lackman defeated Pontelandolfo 2-0.  As we examine this bracket, it helps to illustrate just how much position, luck & circumstance go into being an NCAA DIII qualifier. If you don't place in the top three of your Region, you aren't going. It's that simple. A lot of good guys stay home every year & Brian Schneider of Elizabethtown is proof of that. He defeated Pontelandolfo here last season for 3rd place.  What a statement it would be if he could upset the Violet once again.  I give Messiah's Zach Needles the #4 seed. I think being 0-3 against Schneider this is most likely where he is to finish.  I think our battle for 5th place will be between WPI's Ryan Powers & Ursinus' Jake Folk.  Folk did give Schneider a tough 6-4 match last season for the record. 

174 lbs 

Returning 8th place NCAA Division III All American Demitreus Henry of SUNY-Cortland will run the show here at 174 lbs.  As to places 2nd through 4th, I honestly see it going down exactly as it did last season. 

184 lbs 

This could easily turn out to be the best weight class of the entire tournament. We're talking two returning Racich Rumble champions, a runner-up & three returning NCAA Division III qualifiers. 

Gotta go with Alvernia's Isaac Kassis as the #1 seed. He is a returning champion, he has the ranking & he has wins over Gary Nagle of Usinus, Scott Dupont of NYU & Ryder Slaton of Messiah. Brian Torres of SUNY-Cortland I give the #2 seed as he has a head to head 8-4 victory over Nagle.  As to Nagle, I put him at #3 over NYU's Jason Geyer because of three reasons. His 2nd place here happened at 184, whereas Geyer's 1st place happened at 174. Secondly, he owns a victory via fall in 6:13 over Kassis. Thirdly in the loss he did have to Kassis, it was a 4-3 tiebreaker. Lastly I give Dupont the #5 seed over Slayton as he has a 7-2 win over Slayton.  Slayton while he has a 8-3 loss to Kassis, also took him into sudden victory, losing 3-1. 

When I say this weight class could turn out to be very good I mean it.  Quarters on through, we're potentially looking at some really good matches. 

197 lbs 

Another very tough weight class.  I believe our #1 seed will be Camden Farrow of York (PA), who was 4th in the NCAA DIII championships last season.  He won a title here last year. I believe his opponent will be Mauro Kelly of Alvernia, who was R12 in NCAA DIII. Farrow defeated Pellot last season 9-7.  As to the #3 seed, I would go with NCAA qualifier Matt Kelly of NYU. He took Farrow into overtime, dropping a 6-4 decision. At #4 Tyler Riggs of WPI, with Cameron Butka of Wilkes at #5 and Tyler Phenegar of Elizabethtown at #6. Butka has three victories over Phenegar by scores of 5-1, 8-2 & 11-6. Lastly I'll put in a word for Lucas Wilson-Wuestefeld who was 4th here last season, but I think it'll be very difficult for him to earn another top six showing if the rest of these talents show up. 

HWT 

Bare with me on this one.  It's a bumpy ride, buckle your seatbelt. There is a lot to unfold here. 

Alvernia's Palmer Rodenhaber lost in the finals here last season to Delaware Valley's Austin Williams but I give Rodenhaber the #1 seed & I'll tell you why. Despite the 5-2 loss to Williams, he came back and defeated him twice. A score of 8-1 & a 6:55 fall. He also owns a 8-1 decision over Dylan Waller of Elizabethtown who I have given the #2 seed & he has pinned Carter Urich of Messiah who I give the #3 seed on three occasions. 

As to Waller as the #2 seed, he has defeated Dan Eckley of Delaware Valley twice by scores of 9-6 & 6-5.  He's also pinned Urich twice in the first period.  Some may point at Eckley's 5-2 victory over Rodenhaber, but overall Eckley is 1-2 Vs Urich.  A 4-2 victory Vs 9-3 & 5-2 losses. 

Now it may seem weird to put last year's champ, Austin Williams all the way down at #5, but all things considered it's only fair to put him there.  Along with the two losses he has to Rodenhaber, he's also lost twice to Eckley & once to Urich.  Yet still one ahead of WPI's Chris Gens, who he has defeated twice. 

Parity anyone??

Among the five returning place-winners from last season as well as Gens, I would also look to Caleb Burkhart of Wilkes as one who will be gunning for a top 6 finish. 

Ithaca Invitational Preview (11-4/5-22)

 

A very tough NCAA Division III tournament. The Ithaca Invitational has an assortment of top ranked wrestlers at every weight class battling it out for a top six finish. 

Picture Guide
NCAA DIII Ranking & Name
School
(What Place they took here last season)
How I would seed 

125 lbs 

A champion here last season as well as the NCAA Division III champion, I'd bet on Jacob Decatur winning another Ithaca Invitational title this tournament.  Seeing how Johnson & Wales Justin Lopez is already 4-0 with 7-4, 4-3, 11-3 & 5-2 victories over Springfield's Joey Manginelli, I would say he is our likely candidate to face Decatur in the finals.  I gave Manginelli the nod over Arborio as he finished NCAA R12 at the DIII's last season.  Some would switch them around & I do not object to that. Either way, both were place-winners here last season & will most likely be again this weekend.  Another I would watch for to place within the top six is Kaya Bogle of Castleton. 

133 lbs 

This is the weight class to pay attention to. If drama is to unfold, here is where it's going to be unfolded.  Finishing 3rd in the NCAA DIII nationals last season, Dalton Rohrbaugh of York has earned his ranking & he deserves the #1 seed here. He'll be challenged in both his semi-final match & his finals match should he hold on to his seed. Greensboro's Josh Wilson (5th in NCAA DIII last season) who I give the #2 seed to here, gave him a 3-2 match last season. 

Based on ranking & victories over the competition I give the #3 seed to Diego Santiago of New England but I wonder if he'll hold on to it. The competition in this bracket is pretty fierce & he seems to squeak by in so many of his wins.  He defeated Castleton's Michael Gonyea 2-1 & he needed a tiebreaker to get past Springfield's Gianni Manginelli 3-2. 

Last year's champion Gabriel Leo-Esparolini who was also R12 at NCAA DIII's I felt I had to give the #4 seed. I can't put him above Rohrbaugh or Wilson and back & forth both Gonyea & Jaden Hinton of Baldwin Wallace is why I put Santiago one spot above him too.  Regardless of whether you were to seed him #3 or #4, he's giving whoever he faces Rohrbaugh or Wilson absolute Hell in the semi-finals. 

Between Hinton & Gonyea, I had to give Hinton the #5 & Gonyea the #6 as head to head, Hinton owns a 7-3 decision. Both have impressive victories over Leo-Esparolini. Hinton defeated him 13-0 & Gonyea stuck him at the 3:57 mark.  However, they both have losses (more recent may I add) to GLE as well. A 6-4 sudden victory for Gonyea & an 8-7 decision for Hinton.  It really speaks to the intestinal fortitude of GLE that he can turn those types of losses into wins. 

Gianni Manginelli of Springfield, 6th here last year, I gave the #7 seed. He has a 3-2 victory over Gonyea, but he's also lost to him 5-1 & 9-0. He also has a 5-4 loss to GLE.  Lastly, I think in the hunt for a top six finish will also be Ithaca's own Luis Hernandez. 

Quarters, semis, finals, consolation semis, consolation finals....this is gonna be a fun bracket. 

141 lbs 

Are we likely to see the feud continue between Castleton's James Rodriguez and Johnson & Wales' Hayden Brown?  Brown finished 3rd to Rodriguez's 4th here last season, but it was Rodriguez who took an 8th place NCAA DIII finish to Brown's R12. Rodriguez also won their last meeting by a 6-2 decision.  

Before Brown starts thinking of vengeance on Rodriguez, he better worry about Ithaca's Travis Jones first. The last the two met, Brown won an 11-6 decision, but the time before that it was the bomber who won an 11-7 decision. It should also be noted that the last time Jones met with Rodriguez he took him into a wild back & forth match before finally dropping a 15-13 s.v. decision.  It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Jones step it up a notch & defeat two high quality opponents in route to winning this invitational. 

Another guy I'd look for to maybe make some noise this tournament would be Delaware Valley's Russell Benson. An NCAA DIII qualifier in 2019, it's due or die time now. Might as well start making your mark right away. Here's as good of a place as any. 

149 lbs 

A tournament like this helps to illustrate that in spite of rankings & credentials just how close these wrestlers are to one another in talent.   Michael Petrella 3rd here last season & 2nd in NCAA DIII deserves the top seed that he is most likely to get.  However he'll have to earn his title shall he win one. The last time he met with Kyle Merritt of Norwich (7th in NCAA DIII), he escaped with a 5-3 sudden victory win. He also snuck past Matt Beyer of Ithaca, a home crowd favorite 6-5. 

Last year's runner-up Chase Parrott of Springfield I gave the #3 seed.  I'd like to think he'll give Merritt a good match in the semi-final but thus far he's lost twice to him by 8-5 & 9-1 decisions.  He also needs to worry about his quarter-final match before he worries too much about his semi. The last he met with Nicholas Roeger of Castleton, that was a close 6-5 victory. 

Petrella Vs Merritt seems likely for our final here, but I'm not sure exactly how 3rd through 6th will shape up. I am very confident that whatever order they finish in, that I've listed who they will be. 

157 lbs 

Ithaca's Adam Wagner has quite the challenge ahead of him if he wants to win another Ithaca Invitational title this weekend. He'll have to get past #10 ranked Eric Hutchinson of York (PA), a two time NCAA DIII qualifier.  Rounding out other place-winners I believe we'll see, I gave Springfield's Jake DeGuire the nod over Western New England's Luke Pinzino as he finished 5th to Pinzino's 7th at the Northeast Regional last season. Logan Dubuque of Castleton is another I think we'll see place top 6. 

165 lbs 

Last year's 165 lbs final saw Baldwin Wallace's Dalton Leightner edge Castleton's Michael Angers 2-1 tiebreaker for the championship. That could very well be our final again  this season.  Scott DeFex of Johnson & Wales was 5th, while Ithaca's Jackson Gray was 6th. This could likely be our consolation final this season. 

174 lbs 

Like at 165 lbs, we are likely to see a repeat of the finals at 174 lbs.  Johnson & Wales Mike Ross, the NCAA DIII runner-up last season defeated Oswego's Charlie Grygas by a score of 6-1 to win last year's title. I think it is unlikely that Donovan Palmer upsets Grygas in what should be one of our semi-finals, but I do believe he is the strongest candidate for 3rd place. 

184 lbs 

5th in NCAA DIII last season, Chibueze Chuckwuezi of Ithaca won a title here at 197 lbs. This season he looks to win a title at 184 lbs.  Challenging him will be Baldwin Wallace's Luke Salmon who finished a match shy of All American honors himself last season.  In the battle for 3rd, which will also be a battle for varsity, Castleton puts Alec Richards up against Sampson Wilkins.  Richardson leads the series thus far (remember this was written BEFORE wrestle-offs) 2-1.  4-2 & 7-5 s.v. decisions Vs a 5-0 victory for Wilkins. 

197 lbs

Here's where things could get interesting.  Cam Farrow of York (PA) returns a 4th place DIII All American as Jordan Wallace of Ithaca returns an 8th place DIII All American. It's only right to put them as the #1 & #2 seeds.  However, I wouldn't put it past Johnson & Wales Dylan Harr to upset Wallace in the semi-final as he already owns a 5-3 victory over the Bomber.  Darby McLaughlin I have the #4 seed as Harr defeated him for 5th place here last season 11-5.  Rounding out our #5 & #6 seeds, Haven Tatarek of Castleton & Sam Ware of Springfield.  Tatarek owns three victories over Ware thus far, 4-0, 4-2 & a 6:36 fall. 

HWT 

I believe the #1 seed here will be Johnson & Wales Liridon Leka.  As to the #2 & #3 seeds I wasn't sure whether to do with Doug Byrne of Baldwin Wallace or Michael Filieri of Springfield. Byrne was 3rd here last season, but down at 197.  Not sure if it matters, as either way this is our likely semi-final. Norwich's Mason Sprinkel I would give the #4 seed.  Although he was pinned by Filieri in 3:35, he also gave him a close 3-2 match. 

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There you have it.  Bombs away! Look forward to the Ithaca Invitational!! 

Bob Marella 

And for fun, here's a picture of my all time favorite Ithaca Bomber, Bob "Gino" Marella aka Gorilla Monsoon. An NCAA runner-up in 1959.