2021 Midlands Preview 174 lbs

 If Iowa's Mike Kemerer is back in action, does anyone pose a threat to the Hawkeye securing his third Midlands title?  Yes and that person is Logan Massa of Michigan.  The two have met once, with Kemerer winning a tight 4-2 decision. Odds favor the Hawkeye but the Wolverine is capable of winning this matchup.  

#11 Adam Kemp
Cal Poly 

I do think that Cal Poly's Adam Kemp will be a place winner but places 4th through 8th as far as I'm concerned is very wide open.  

Tons of ranked wrestlers as well as some unranked guys that could place....

#17 Jackson Turley Rutgers 
#18 Andrew McNally Wisconsin
#19 Austin Murphy Campbell
#20 Troy Fisher Northwestern
#21 Gerrit Nijenhuis Purdue
#22 Jacob Oliver Edinboro
#23 Nick Icontrera Pennsylvania 
#24 Sal Perrine Ohio 
#26 Ben Pasiuk Army
#29 Joshua Kim Harvard
#30 Mason Kauffman Northern Illinois 
D.J. Shannon of Illinois
Brennan Swafford & Nelson Brands of Iowa
Victor Marcelli of Virginia who placed 7th in 2020
Robert Patrick of Virginia 


Any of the smaller divisions going to have a good showing?  Gee, I don't know.  With 14 ranked DI wrestlers, plus 5 others including one that was a place-winner at the last Midlands, I wouldn't bet on it.  It'd be fun to see DIII #3 Ben Sarasin of Chicago do well. The University of Chicago has participated in I want to say every Midlands there has ever been and to my knowledge, I don't think they've ever had a place-winner.  Be cool to see it happen.  Casey Randles of Grand View, currently #3 in the NAIA would be your other small school wrestler to do well if any one does. 

2021 Midlands Preview 165 lbs

 

Here we go! A final that we are all looking forward to.  Iowa's Alex Marinelli who is attempting to win his fourth Midlands title and Evan Wick of Cal Poly looking to win his first. The advantage goes to Marinelli who in spite of the fact that all of his victories have been close, is currently 4-1 against the Mustang. Yet Wick is on a high and that cannot be ignored. He recently won a CKLV title, with a convincing 6-2 decision over last year's NCAA champion Shane Griffith of Stanford, who may we remind the jury knocked Marinelli out of the title run in last year's NCAA quarter-finals.  Most anticipated match of the tournament? It's one of them. 

Due to some losses this season, some fans have lost faith in 2021 NCAA runner-up Jake Wentzel of Pittsburgh, but I haven't. He's a tournament wrestler. He's not one that's going to go undefeated throughout the season & be on in every dual.  That's not him.  There have been wrestlers over the years that turn it on in high pressure situations and that's who he is.  He's proven that in the past and he could very well again this weekend. 

I have a lot of belief in the capabilities of freshman D.J. Hamiti of Wisconsin. I think the young Badger has an extremely bright future ahead and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him become a name everyone, everywhere is talking about after this weekend. Upending Marinelli or Wick?  I don't know if we're there yet, but getting on the award stand with some notable victories? Take it to the bank. 

Bucknell's Zach Hartman is a two-time Midlands Place-winner with a high finish to his resume and I would bet on him earning his third medal. I wouldn't at all be surprised to see Illinois' Danny Braunagel have a good tournament.  Fans can keep doubting Michigan's Cam Amine's capabilities all the want, but no bother. He'll just do as he did at CKLV when he placed 5th a couple of weeks ago & silence his doubters with a medal from the Midlands.  Izzak Olejnik of Northern Illinois took 8th at the last Midlands & Harvard's Philip Conigliaro makes another candidate for a medal.  

Iowa's Pat Kennedy could likely be Marinelli's replacement next season (or maybe someone else's depending on what weight he is for 2022-2023) and what better place to instill assuredness in the black and gold faithful than at the Midlands? Can is a word we all want to turn into will and a good showing in Chicago is the absolute best way for a backup to do exactly that. 

Others to watch out for include....

Riley Smucker of Cleveland State
David Ferrante of Northwestern
#30 Lucas Revano of Pennsylvania
Cardeionte Wilson of SIUE 
#16 Justin McCoy of Virginia 


 

2021 Midlands Preview 157 lbs

                               

I just do not see Northwestern's Ryan Deakin getting beat.  I don't only mean here at the Midlands, I mean period. The rest of the season, BIG 10's, NCAA's, you name it.  I think when it is all said and done, the above picture is reflective to how all of Deakin's matches this season will end.  Him getting his hand raised. For all picks for champs, this is where I feel the most comfortable. 

As we approach the half way point of the 2021-2022 season, one of the biggest puzzles of the year has been Hawkeye Kaleb Young.  10 matches into the year, he's currently 6-4. That's one more loss than he had all of last season & only one loss away from having as many losses as he did in the 2019-2020 season.  Something is obviously wrong and Robert Stack has it listed as an Unsolved Mystery.  What I do know is that Young is an extremely talented wrestler. It's not like that talent just leaves you.  It doesn't just get up and take off one day never to be seen again. It's not gone. It's simply lying dormant for some reason & something needs to be done to channel it back to life.  We're talking about a FOUR time Midlands place-winner going for his FIFTH Midlands medal. A TWO time finalist going for his THIRD finals appearance. A champion going for his SECOND title.  Let's not lose sight of what he has accomplished and what he IS capable of, just because he's struggled so far this season.  The Midlands is the testing point. Let's seem him actually take the test BEFORE we grade it.  As far as I'm concerned, the only guy in this bracket that I don't think he can beat is Deakin. Even though he owns two victories over the Wildcat, I just cannot see that happening. I'd be saying this even if Young were currently undefeated. 

Quincy Monday of Princeton and Kendall Coleman of Purdue give us two more wrestlers that could potentially makes the finals. Monday defeated Young earlier this season & Coleman has given Young a scare in the past in 4-3 loss. Again, don't see either of these guys defeating Deakin, but can see either one in the finals against him. 

Who will be our other place-winners?  Well, it doesn't escape my memory that at the last Midlands, Army's Markus Hartman came out of nowhere to make the finals. While I don't see him making the finals again, I'll say this. If he was capable of taking runner-up honors then, than he is capable of placing within the top 8 now. Will Lewan of Michigan, especially considering that the Wolverines want to make a statement against the Hawkeyes here, is another one I see on the award stand. 

Others I can see making a run for a Midlands medal? 

Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan
Both A.J. Jaffe & Trevor Tarsi of Harvard
#18 Andrew Cerniglia of Navy
#27 Jordan Slivka of Ohio
#20 Doug Zapf of Pennsylvania
#31 Elijah Cleary of Pittsburgh
#32 Robert Kanniard of Rutgers
Jake Keating of Virginia
Garrett Model of Wisconsin 

#1 in NAIA Giovanny Bonilla 
Grand View 

Any small school wrestlers gonna make a name for themselves here at the Midlands?  Tough bracket, but if anyone can it is Grand View's Giovanny Bonilla. 

 

2021 Midlands Preview 149 Lbs

 

I think that this is a very wide open weight class that could be won by a variable of wrestlers, but tier one as far as I'm concerned is Iowa's Max Murin and Northwestern's Yahya Thomas.  Murin has made the finals the past two tournaments in a row, having taken runner-up honors in 19' & having won a title in 20'.  Thomas on the other hand has been a role since last year's NCAA tournament where he took 3rd.  While both are susceptible to being upset, this is the finals I think we have the highest probability of seeing. 

Albeit, some horses are darker than others but I can make a case for each one of these guys. 

From left to right....

When on, Legend Lamer of Cal Poly is tough to beat. He has two wins over All American Jaden Abas of Stanford including one by technical fall. Putting together 4-5 matches in a row to win a Midlands title may be a bit of a stretch, but it isn't out of the realms of possibility. 

I'll make a better case for Josh Heil of Campbell. The Camel lost what many feel was the most controversial match of the 2021 NCAA tournament.  Ever since then he's had a chip on his shoulder and something to prove.  He was Murin's finals opponent in the last Midlands, taking the Hawkeye to a 5-3 decision. 

Kanen Storr of Michigan?  He's never faced Murin, but he already owns a 4-3 tiebreaker over Thomas. 

Anthony Artalona of Pennsylvania is a lot like Lamer, when on, tough to beat. An EIWA champion, I wouldn't put making the finals or even winning a Midlands title past him. 

Wisconsin's Austin Gomez's resume sorta speaks for itself. He has a ton of huge wins at 133 lbs & recently he defeated North Carolina All American Zach Sherman by a convincing 9-4 decision.  I wouldn't ever count the Badge out of a match. 

If he ever wrestles again, Mike Carr of Illinois owns victories over both Murin and Thomas.  

And lastly, yeah, I'll make a case for Iowa's Vince Turk. It's like the world up and forgot about this talented kid. Put him on a shelf and forgot about him. I can picture him coming into Midlands like Judge Doom from WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT storming his way through the quarterfinals upset after upset saying, "Remember me!?!??!" He was 4th at the last Midlands, and he has a variety of impressive wins including a 3-1 sudden victory over Storr. 

I've already named 9 wrestlers.  Are there other place-winner contenders? Yep.  Army's P.J. Ogunsanya is a tough wrestler. Rutgers Mike Van Brill only has two settings. Off and maximum volume. As he proved at last year's BIG 10's with victories over both Murin & Storr in route to a 3rd place finish, when he's in a mood to wrestle, look out.  He's currently 9-0 on the season. 


Others that I wouldn't count out...

Jarod Verkleeren of Virginia 
Alec Hagan of Ohio who was 8th at the Midlands in 2020
Graham Rooks of Indiana 
Christian Kanzler of Illinois who has been a phenomenal fill in for Carr thus far this year 
Marcus Robinson of Cleveland State
Corbyn Munson Central Michigan 

2021 Midlands Preview 141 lbs

 

We have ourselves a triple threat to the Midlands title here.  Iowa's Jaydin Eierman, Michigan's Stevan Micic and Rutger's Sebastian Rivera.  This will be Eierman's first Midlands tournament since transferring to Iowa two seasons ago & he'll want to win one for the Hawks as Micic competes in his first Midlands in 7 years, looking for his second medal and his first title.  Rivera will be going for title #2 and medal #4.  Micic owns a 10-4 decision over Rivera & neither Micic or Rivera have ever faced Eierman. 

Do I see anyone beating the top three here? No, I don't.  I think in whatever order it is, Eierman, Micic, Rivera, they finish 1st-2nd-3rd here. I repeat, whichever order it is.  With that said, I do think that Dylan Duncan of Illinois takes a notable 4th place finish though.  Upsets can and will happen, but I feel pretty confident in predicting that out of the Illini. 

Who will be our other place-winners?  Again, the door is wide open.  Dresden Simon of Central Michigan is a likely candidate having a high ranking and having placed here before.  On paper per ranking it may not seem as likely to see Army's Corey Shie back on the award stand, but that's what this tournament is all about. For nearly 60 years that is exactly what has happened season after season. Guys come in that you least expect and have tremendous tournaments. Shie is one of many more than capable, as is Parker Filius of Purdue and many others. 

A guy I would really like to see place here is Franklin & Marshall's Wil Gil. I've talked about this in previous posts, but wrestling for a small school like Franklin & Marshall, a guy like Gil isn't going to get any favors. He's gonna have to have his resume built up with some quality wins and placings if he wants serious consideration at the EIWA for NCAA qualification. A top 8 finish here would do him a world of good. 

Others to look for here include...

#18 Darren Miller Bucknell
#22 Cole Matthews Pittsburgh
#23 Cayden Rooks Indiana

#25 Lawrence Saenz Cal Poly 
#30 Carmen Ferrante Pennsylvania
#32 Joe Zargo Wisconsin
#33 Saul Ervin SIUE
Shanna Hanna Campbell
Gabe Willochell Edinboro
Cole Mattin Michigan

Dylan Cedeno Virginia 

#3 in NAIA Ryan Moore
Thomas More 

You want a guy that no one is going to say anything about or expect anything out of, that could very well end up placing? Look no further than Thomas More's Ryan Moore. The Cornell transfer owns a win by fall over MAC runner-up Marcus Robinson of Cleveland State as well as an 8-0 major decision over EIWA champion Malyke Hines of Lehigh. If he were to sneak into the top 8, he would be the Saints first Midlands medalist. 


Javen Estrada of North Central #2 in NCAA DIII is another small school wrestler who could have a good tournament here. 

2021 Midlands Preview 125 lbs

 

Until proven otherwise, this is the man to beat.  Three time NCAA Champion Spencer Lee has not tasted defeat in three years. It's asinine to think that he has yet to win a Midlands title isn't it? The way he looked at the national duals, his health doesn't seem to be an issue at all. In terms of wrestling, a God among men. 

Ha! Forgive me Michigan fans I know good and well that Suriano wrestles for Michigan now! Ah! So sorry about that.  Forgive me. Don't have time to fix it, very pressed for time. 

Can anyone challenge Lee for a Midlands title? Don't know, but what I do know is that there are two guys who aren't afraid of him. Two guys that believe they can beat him. Princeton's Patrick Glory and Michigan's Nick Suriano. On paper, Suriano has came closer having taken Lee to a 5-1 match Vs Glory whose closest match with Lee was 12-6.  The semi-final between Glory & Suriano, should it happen will be a match for the ages. 

Since we're asking if anyone can challenge Spencer Lee of Iowa for a Midlands title, it begs the question, can anyone challenge Glory or Suriano? I'm going with 99.99% No.  I will put in a good word for Northwestern's Michael DeAugustino and Purdue's Devin Schroder though. DeAugustino is ranked lower than what I would personally have him, considering that he was R12 at the NCAA's last year.  Not a knock at the rankers, cause I'd rip myself a new one reading over my own work if I were to try and do rankings. Simply pointing out DeAugustino's capabilities & the fact that he was a runner-up at the last Midlands.  As to Schroder, it's not lost on me that Glory absolutely destroyed him 13-0 in Vegas.  However, lets keep in mind that Schroder still took runner-up at CKLV & he's a tournament wrestler. Find him in the finals? Not likely, but he'll be on the award stand. 

So as of right now we have five highly likely place-winners for the Midlands.  How about the other three places?  Well I'm fairly confident that Eric Barnett of Wisconsin will be one of them. Not 100% positive, but I'd give it the odds in the over/under.  Now that leaves two more places, 7th & 8th.  Who takes those?  Let's ask Stansfield. 

And no, this isn't much of an exaggeration. 125 lbs is notorious for its parity. You can go based on the rankings & of course the seedings are going to matter (this was written before seeds came out) but at the end of the day, a lot of 125 lbs'ers have notable victories over one another.  In accordance to the rankings we have

#18 Jack Medley of Michigan
#24 Dylan Shawver of Rutgers
#25 Gage Curry of Pittsburgh
#26 Jacob Moran of Indiana 
#28 Justin Cardani of Illinois
#29 Antonio Lorenzo of Cal Poly
#30 Anthony Molton of Campbell
#32 Logan Heil of Cleveland State
#33 Ryan Miller of Pennsylvania 

Yet that is far from the # of guys capable of coming home with medals. 

Colton Camacho of Pittsburgh has already beaten Curry & has some other notable wins. 

Korbin Meink & Zurich Storm of Campbell are pretty much dead even with Molton, and any of the three Camels are capable of placing. 

Drake Ayala of Iowa's only loss this season was against NCAA 3rd place All American Pat McKee of Minnesota. Who knows what he can do against other competition. 

Both Beau Bayliss of Harvard & Jacob Allen of Navy can be tough when they want to be & neither would surprise me if they were to walk out with a medal. 

#2 Justin Portillo of Grand View will represent the NAIA. 

2021 Midlands Preview 133 lbs

 

One time Midlands champion, two time finalist, Iowa's Austin DeSanto is the man to beat at 133 lbs. Currently 10-0 on the season with 7 technical falls and one major decision, the Hawks can count on the mentally unstable one for bonus points throughout at least the first two rounds if not three.  The Midlands team title may not be as prestigious to the black and gold as the BIG 10's or the NCAA's, but it is still a championship that they hold significant and Desanto will help them to add a trophy to the collection that if laid horizontally might actually stretch from Iowa City to Chicago. 

Anyone challenging DeSanto?  I think if anyone can, it is Pittsburgh's Micky Phillippi. It's not lost me me that DeSanto thrashed him 13-5 at last year's NCAA championships. It's not lost on me that Phillippi recently lost by defensive fall to Malyke Hines of Lehigh.  I've been paying attention, believe me.  Yet, it's also not lost on me that Phillippi owns a 3-1 victory over Oklahoma State's Daton Fix, who DeSanto has never defeated. It's also not lost on me that Phillippi owns a 4-0 victory over Ethan Lizak of Minnesota, who DeSanto was 2-1 against. Truth is Phillippi is one of the best yet to All American & I think he proves that here.  I don't think he can beat DeSanto on his feet. That's DeSanto's bread and butter. If he is to beat DeSanto it'll be from the top position, his strength and DeSanto's weakness.  That is my analysis. 

Anyone stopping Phillippi in route to making the Midlands finals and possibly upending DeSanto for a title? Yep, and the guy that could do it is Lucas Byrd of Illinois.  Byrd was 5th at the NCAA's last season and the guy he beat to be an All American was Phillippi in a tiebreaker. He's already proven that he can beat the Panther once, it's not a stretch to think he could do it again. 

So who are going to be our other place-winners at 133 lbs? Well, like at 125 the answer is, could be an assortment of guys.  All American Chris Cannon of Northwestern, a hometown favorite, will be looking for his second medal as will Indiana's Brock Hudkins and Pennsylvania's Michael Colaiocco.  Colaiocco kinda came out of nowhere back in 2020 to take a strong 3rd place finish. That was at 125 lbs though and the question remains of whether it can be done again or not.  Sammy Alvarez of Rutgers seems a good candidate as does Dylan Ragusin of Michigan. 

Others to watch out for are 

#16 Brian Courtney of Virginia
#22 Mario Guillen of Ohio 
#25 Kyle Burwick of Wisconsin as well as teammate Ethan Rotondo 
Matt Ramos of Purdue
Anthony Sobotker of Binghamton 

If you look through the history of the Midlands smaller schools have had their fair share of success. As tough as the tournament is, it's difficult for those small school guys to break through and place, but it has happened before and it will happen again. Both the NAIA & NCAA Division III will feature their top talent. The Gimson brothers of Indiana Tech, who could make history this season and become the first twin brothers to ever face one another for an NAIA title, are exceptionally tough.  Robert Precin of North Central the best in D3 will test his skills against D1 competition. 

Wilkes Invitational Preview (12-22-2021)

 

Normally an open, the 88th tournament at Wilkes will be an invitational this season due to COVID-19 restrictions.  A fun little before Christmas tournament, there will be some good wrestling here. 

125 lbs 

Looking forward to the battle of two freshmen that are thus far having pretty good starts to their collegiate careers.  Ryan Kelly of Delaware Valley who is currently 17-3 on the season and Joel Lamparelli of Muhlenberg who is currently 13-3 on the season.  I could plausibly see this as our final, although I think Terry Adams of Ursinus who put together a 28-12 record in 2020 & currently has an 8-1 record will also fight for a title. 

133

The waters have been a little rougher for Cockrell since moving up to 133 from 125, but I still think this Shark will rule the seas of the Wilkes Open when it is all said and done.  I can possibly see freshman Dylan Le of Ohio Northern giving him a match in a predicted final, but that'd be about it.  

141 

This is a predicted finals that I am looking forward to.  Russell Benson of Delaware Valley a NCAA DIII qualifier in 2019 with a current record of 14-2 against Ohio Northern freshman Jacob Reed who currently owns a 17-1 record on the season.  Both of these guys could be NCAA DIII qualifiers this season. 

149 

Feel the same way about Drew Witham that I do about teammate Cockrell.  Been a bit tougher since moving from 141 to 149, but in the least I think he makes the finals here.  Anxious to see him against 2019 NCAA DIII qualifier Chase Sumner of Ohio Northern, who has a career record of 40-6.  Normally in most situations go with the DI guy over a DIII guy, but these circumstances are a little different.  LIU is still adjusting into a DI school, and Witham is a pretty tough wrestler.  While I don't see Wilkes' Kyle Tino upending either Witham or Sumner, I can see him having a pretty good tournament. 

157 

Another youth Vs experience matchup I'm looking forward to. In wrestling we don't get to see a whole lot of top talent from New Hampshire, but a two time state champion, Anson Dewar of Muhlenberg is having himself a great rookie campaign going 14-3 thus far on the season.  Schuyler Caprella of Ohio Northern was 38-10 in the 2020 season, going 4-2 at the Central Regional just barely missing out on NCAA DIII qualification.  This should be a good match. 

165 

I think this one will be an individual title for the Sharks.  I can possibly see Ohio Northern's Jordan Hardrick giving Bahna a match, but I feel pretty confident in predicting Bahna to win a title here. 

174 

I don't know if this will be our finals match or not.  174 seems pretty open to me, but this is a match I look forward to seeing if it happens. Their common opponent is Ben Doughtery of R.I.T. who Boulahri defeated in two close matches, 7-5 & 6-4. Kravits lost to him in a close one 6-5. Anxious to see how this match turns out. 

184 
Colton Babcock
Wilkes 

Since transferring from Shippensburg, Colton Babcock of Wilkes has been doing pretty well for the Colonels. Thus far this season he is 14-1 winning titles at the Ned McGinley Invitational, The Wildcat Invitational and the Elizabethtown Invitational. I think he'll add a fourth title to his resume on Wednesday.  Not bad for a kid that never placed at state. 

197 

Both Cash Thompson of Ohio Northern and Luca Colestock of Muhlenberg were NCAA DIII qualifiers in 2020.  This is the final I predict & I'll give a slight edge to Colestock, but think this could turn out to be the match of the tournament. 

HWT 
Dan Eckley 
Delaware Valley 

19-4 on the season thus far, Eckley recently won a title at the R.I.T. tournament.  I think he'll win one here too. 


=== 

Not the toughest tournament in the world, but like I said some good wrestlers to watch and some fun matches that will turn out.  

JT#1's Notes, Thoughts and Observations for Week 7 of Collegiate Wrestling (Dec 13th-19th, 2021)

 

Intermat's Seth Duckworth recently commented on how Oklahoma State has looked extremely solid this year in beating the pants off of Oklahoma, Wyoming and Air Force.  He's 100% correct and I'm going to take it a step further and note that what is really making the difference in Cowboy wrestling this year, is that they are winning nearly all of the toss up matches.  Vs Air Force, Carter Young & Cody Phippen was a toss up, Young pulled out a 3-1 victroy. Vs Wyoming Wyatt Sheets won his toss up with Jacob Wright 2-1 t.b.  A.J. Ferarri won his toss up with Stephen Buchanan 4-2 & Trevor Mastrogiovanni won his toss up with Jake Svihel 7-5 sudden victory.   This is NCAA Division I wrestling, a lot of matches are going to be close. Especially in important duals and tournaments. Winning those toss ups is key & the Orange and Black is doing a very good job of it. 

Ohio Bobcat true freshman Zayne Lehman had himself a pretty good little weekend.  A major decision over George Mason's Kyle Davis & a 3-1 decision over Gardner Webb's Jha'Quan Anderson.  

As usual with most tournaments, there were wrestlers there that I had no idea were going to be there and there were wrestlers missing that I thought were going to be there.  Nevertheless, still a great tournament. 

I probably put a little more faith into the NAIA than I should have, but I can't help it. I love NAIA wrestling and I knew that they'd have a handful of wrestlers have a good showing here at Reno.  Jack Latimer with a huge 2-1 victory over Clarion's Brent Moore in route to a 4th place finish. Trevor Anderson & Ben Lee both placing 6th.  Casey Randles making the finals at 174 & how about Isaac Bartel of Montana State Northern making the finals at 197?  K.C. Buday with a fine 3rd place finish at HWT.  I was hoping to see a few more NAIA guys make the award stand, but these were some tough brackets.  If Reno went to 8 places instead of just 6, more would have medaled in the 7th/8th place match such as Shea Ruffridge.  I'll digress on that. 

It was nice to see J.J. Dixon finally get a nice win. He has struggled like mad thus far this season. To be honest I was shocked to see him handle Stanford's Nick Stemmet the way that he did. Darn near majored him 11-4.  

Hey, hey Trey Munoz is back & I guess now we know that he is a member of the Oregon State Beavers.  I'm surprised this wasn't bigger news.  I figured in the way that Logan Massa returning to Michigan was a huge deal, this would be too. I figure the only reason why it isn't, is because the wrestling community isn't as familiar with Munoz or how good he is.  They will be soon enough. His 3-2 decision over Wyoming's Tate Samuelson for a RENO title is only the beginning. 

What a great tournament! Holy cow. There are a million stories I could write about the Midwest Classic but I'm going to stick with my two favorites. 

How rewarding was it to see senior Andrew Sams win a championship in front of his home town crowd?  Man that was awesome! Sent chills up and down my spine. Love seeing that kind of stuff happen in wrestling.  

You know a bad tournament can make all the difference in the world. A lot of wrestlers know that unfortunate fact to be a reality. BUT...a good tournament can make all the difference in the world as well.  Tiffin's Nick Mason a DII National champion in 2019, failed to place at the 2021 championships. He wrestled very well here, showing his comeback with a 3rd place finish.  I was surprised when he lost in the quarter finals 9-8 to Gino Sita of Alderson Broaddus, but man did he storm through the consolations in route to 3rd place, including sticking Sita at 5:44. 








This upcoming week is a going to be a short one as a ton of DI teams head to Florida for some competition. It's not too cold where I'm at right now, but man Florida would be nice. Be even nicer in about a month! 

See you next week wrestling fans!!