Cliff Keen Las Vegas Preview And Predictions

Cliff Keen Las Vegas Preview And Predictions

Dec 2, 2015 by Christian Pyles
Cliff Keen Las Vegas Preview And Predictions
Christian Pyles The time is almost here.  The season gets into full swing this weekend in Las Vegas.  With a whopping 80 ranked wrestlers in the Pre-Seeds, you can guarantee both high level wrestling as well as some guaranteed upsets!   (ASICS FloRankings) 125 Pre-Seeds 1 Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State (1) 2 Joey Dance, Virginia Tech (3) 3 David Terao, American (7) 4 Dylan Peters, Northern Iowa (6) 5 Chasen Tolbert, Utah Valley (11) 6 Ronnie Bresser, Oregon State (8) 7 Zeke Moisey, West Virginia (9) 8 Conor Youtsey, Michigan (10) X Factors: (#14) Barlow McGhee, Missouri,(#13) Paul Petrov - Bucknell, (#17) Josh Rodriguez - NDSU, Trey Andrews - Northern Colorado, Dalton Macri - Cornell Would ya look at this weight!? NCAA Champ, finalist, and multiple All Americans and 8 or so other ranked guys make up this field. So you see this depth of talent and maybe you say “anybody’s weight!” You could say that, but I strongly believe Nathan Tomasello is a runaway train pulling away from this field. Maybe that’s bold (or maybe it’s conventional thinking, I’m not sure) considering there are two guys in this field alone (Peters and Dance) who have knocked him off. We saw Tomasello grow in terms of tactics throughout the year. While he was basically the same wrestler, he tightened up a few areas and avoided giving up careless points (suckbacks, getting put on his back from the feet). He was losing matches in weird ways for the most part. I think he wins this weight gets some revenge against Peters and Dance along the way. We could have a Dance/Moisey quarter here, yowza. They had a dandy at the Hokie Open last year. Moisey has been struggling lately while Joey knocked off Nico Megaludis. That said all it takes is for Zeke to be “on” and this is a dog fight. I’m giddy over a potential Terao/Bresser quarterfinal as well. They are two extremely entertaining guys to watch, especially from the neutral position. Bresser has lightning quick leg attacks as well as feet to back potential, Terao has the best throw-bys in D1 and is a bear on top with legs. I’d be surprised to see this end low scoring. Barlow McGhee with extra recovery time will be a factor at 125. Paul Petrov is always dangerous as well and has knocked off some big guns including Zeke Moisey. Prediction wise, I feel very comfortable in the 1st and 2nd placers. Beyond that I think this weight is incredibly even with unseeded guys having top 3 or 4 potential in this field. I like Moisey to have a bounce back tournament. The big stage of Vegas and this field and the flow of a tournament will favor the Mountaineer. CP’s Predictions 1 - Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State 2 - Joey Dance, Virginia Tech 3 - Zeke Moisey, WVU 4 - David Terao, American 5 - Dylan Peters, UNI 6 - Barlow McGhee, Missouri 133 Pre-Seeds 1 Cody Brewer, Oklahoma (1) 2 Ryan Taylor, Wisconsin (3) 3 Nahshon Garrett, Cornell (5) 4 Johnni DiJulius, Ohio State (6) 5 Rossi Bruno, Michigan (7) 6 Earl Hall, Iowa State (4) 7 George DiCamillo, Virginia (11) 8 Josh Martinez Air Force (18) X Factors: Josh Alber - UNI, Daniel DeShazer - Nebraska-Kearney, Esteban Gomez-Rivera - American, Grimaldi Gonzalez - Bucknell, (#14) Mackenzie McGuire - Kent State, Zach Synon - Missouri Another silly, silly field. Earl Hall is a 6 seed, good gracious. Interestingly enough there are two guys in the field with wins over #1 Cody Brewer: Johnni DiJulius and Earl Hall. Since those losses Brewer has transformed into a full-fledged PUNISHER. His length and power at 133 is incredible. He has drastically improved his ability to get to legs and finish. He can shoot from just about anywhere and whether it’s head outside or inside he has about 10 different ways to finish. On top he’s equally punishing. His head/hands defense isn’t the best at this weight, but it doesn’t need to be with his ridiculous point scoring potential. I think the biggest challenge to Brewer is Nahshon Garrett. I think if anyone in this entire NCAA field can dethrone Brewer it’s Nahshon. I think he’ll be able to get to legs against Brewer and I think his go behinds could present problems against Brewer who can take errant shots (and typically go unpunished). Garrett could have an angle before Brewer gets a hand on a leg. That’s a problem nobody at 133 really presented to Cody a year ago. Nahshon’s path to Brewer on paper looks dicey. A quarter against Hall, semi against Taylor all for the right to face Brewer. I think he gets there, however. I also give George DiCamillo a real shot against Ryan Taylor if they hit in the quarters. A lot of talent at this weight as well as x-factors. I’m going out on a limb. Give me Nahshon to run the gauntlet. I think Nahshon’s ability to get to legs and go-behinds are the difference in what will be an amazing match. Besides, me incorrectly picking against Cody Brewer has become a regular fixture on FloWrestling. Let’s keep it rolling. CP’s Predictions: 1 - Nahshon Garrett - Cornell 2 - Cody Brewer - Oklahoma 3 - George DiCamillo - UVA 4 - Ryan Taylor - Wisconsin 5 - Earl Hall - Iowa State 6 - Rossi Bruno - Michigan 141 Pre-Seeds 1 Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech (8) 2 Tommy Thorn, Minnesota (19) 3 Todd Preston, Harvard (10) 4 Jamel Hudson, Hofstra (14) 5 Micah Jordan, Ohio State (20) 6 Danny Sabatello, Purdue (16) X Factors: George Fisher, Michigan, Trevor Jauch - Northern Iowa, Matt Manley - Missouri, Dante Rodriguez - Iowa State, Tyler Smith - Bucknell, Ian Nickell - CSU Bakersfield I love Micah Jordan against this field. Consider he already has beaten #1 seed Solomon Chishko a handful of times going back to Ironman and through their redshirt seasons a year ago. Micah has shown zero negative signs of a bad weight cut at this point. In fact he’s bizarrely active with great motion and constant leg attacks. He’s not the hammer Bo is on top, but he ain’t bad. I think this is a very intriguing spot for Chishko. I think he will be in a number of matches that hang in the balance that could leave him prone to being upset. He’s still adjusting to the hour weigh-in in my opinion. With a number of talents in the field it could end up being a tough outing for a one seed. Tommy Thorn has looked the part early taking out Randy Cruz and hanging in matches with some of the best guys in the country. His leg attacks will improve as time goes on and he’s already tough to score on and a great top wrestler. CP’s Predictions: 1 - Micah Jordan, Ohio State 2 - Tommy Thorn, Minnesota 3 - Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech 4 - Todd Preston, Harvard 5 - Danny Sabatello, Purdue 6 - Jamel Hudson, Hofstra 149 Pre-Seeds 1 Lavion Mayes, Missouri (4) 2 Michael DePalma, Kent State (9) 3 Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech (12) 4 Davion Jeffries, Oklahoma (18) 5 Alec Pantaleo, Michigan (11) 6 Gabe Moreno, Iowa State (15) 7 Matt Kraus, Arizona State (17) 8 Geordan Martinez, Boise State X Factors: Joey Delgado - Oregon State, Matt Frisch - The Citadel, Joe Galasso - Cornell, Victor Lopez - Bucknell, Clayton Ream - NDSU I’m very curious to watch Michael DePalma. He’s someone whose talent is undeniable having notched wins over Grajales, Habat and others. The other side of the coin shows Mike as a wrestler who is capable of dropping matches to a number of guys. This field will be looking up at All American Lavion Mayes, the only AA in this field. Though he’s up a weight, I feel confident in him running to a title here. I think his biggest challenge could lie at the hands of Alec Pantaleo. Defensively he is the best in this field. I could see him frustrating Lavion and sneaking a TD for a win. I wouldn’t predict it, but if Lavion goes down it’s probably that sort of scenario. I tell you very truthfully that 2-8 is going to be the ultimate crapshoot. Guys like Pantaleo, Moreno and Mastriani could all vie for the finals spot. Freshman Davion Jeffries can really cement himself as a viable AA contender with a nice run here. I feel great about Lavion and the rest I’m throwing at the wall, we’ll see what sticks. CP’s Predictions: 1 - Lavion Mayes, Missouri 2 - Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech 3 - Alec Pantaleo, Michigan 4 - Gabe Moreno, Iowa State 5 - Davion Jeffries, Oklahoma 6 - Michael DePalma, Kent State 157 Pre-Seeds 1 Ian Miller, Kent State (2) 2 Nick Brascetta, Virginia Tech (4) 3 Joey Lavallee, Missouri (14) 4 Doug Welch, Purdue (10) 5 Aaron Walker, The Citadel (12) 6 Dylan Cottrell, West Virginia (17) 7 Jake Ryan, Ohio State (20) 8 John Boyle, American  X Factors: Markus Scheidel - Columbia, Justin Staudenmayer - Brown, (#19)Andrew Atkinson - UVA , (#16) Russell Parsons - Army, Oliver Pierce - ASU, Abraham Rodriguez - Oregon State, This could set up to be a great final between Miller and Brascetta but I am not sold that we’ll see Brascetta. In fact I am sure of it. So I won’t factor Nick into this equation. Likewise I don’t think we’ll see LaVallee for Missouri. He is still preserving his redshirt for the time being. So this leaves Miller all by his lonesome here. We’ve seen Doug Welch have some really nice moments, but they have been few and far between since he landed himself in the top 10 a year ago. I’m excited to get a look at Dylan Cottrell of WVU. I think he’s a viable finalist contender against this field. Jake Ryan of Ohio State has looked good early but has struggled to open up his offense. It is tough to see a scenario where Ian Miller drops a match, though he’s not necessarily upset-proof. He’s got the most offense of anyone in this field and is as exciting as anyone here regardless of weight. It will be fun watching his path to a title. CP’s Predictions: 1 - Ian Miller, Kent State 2 - Doug Welch, Purdue 3 - Markus Scheidel, Columbia 4 - Dylan Cottrell, WVU 5 - Jake Ryan, Ohio State 6 - Andrew Atkinson, UVA 165 Pre-Seeds 1 Bo Jordan, Ohio State (#1 at 174) 2 Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin (2) 3 Cooper Moore, Northern Iowa (3) 4 Clark Glass, Oklahoma (20) 5 Duke Pickett, Cornell 6 Tanner Weatherman, Iowa State (13) 7 Seth Thomas, Oregon State 8 Garrett Sutton, Michigan X Factors: (#12) David McFadden - Virginia Tech, (#14) Daniel Lewis - Missouri, Adam Fierro - CSU Bakersfield I’m struggling to see how a Jordan v. Jordan final doesn’t become a reality. The two hit last year in the Big 10 Finals with Isaac getting the win. If those two hit I feel strongly that Bo gets the win here. Maybe there’s an “older cousin” dynamic at play that I don’t really get, but I see Bo able to finish the attacks this time around. That will be the difference. Looking at the other players I see two unseeded guys: Daniel Lewis and David McFadden having a great shot at making serious noise. Lewis has a win over Cooper Moore from a year ago and McFadden has already taken out Weatherman and Shakur Rasheed. Lewis took some lumps at Joe Parisi and I want to see if he recovers. McFadden wrestles with incredible confidence. I think top 3 is possible for him this weekend but probably don’t have the guts to predict him to beat someone as good as Moore. CP’s Predictions: 1 - Bo Jordan, Ohio State 2 - Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin 3 - Cooper Moore, UNI 4 - David McFadden, Virginia Tech 5 - Daniel Lewis, Missouri 6 - Tanner Weatherman, Iowa State Here's the last Jordan v. Jordan meeting: 174 Pre-Seeds 1 Brian Realbuto, Cornell (3) 2 Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech (5) 3 Blaise Butler, Missouri (4) 4 Lelund Weatherspoon, Iowa State (11) 5 Matt Reed, Oklahoma (20) 6 Bryce Hammond, CSU Bakersfield (15) 7 Jadaen Bernstein, Navy 8 Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin (13) X Factors: (19) Frank Affronti - Hofstra, Fox Baldwin - UVA, Davonte Mahomes - Michigan Like Brascetta, I don’t think we’ll be seeing Epperly for Virginia Tech. This creates a pretty clear path to the finals for Realbuto and Butler. I love the idea of a rematch here. These two had a great battle 2 years ago at CKLV. With Bo Jordan down at 165, 174 became even more wide open. Butler has notched bigger wins at this weight but Realbuto really hasn’t had many opportunities to do that as of yet. I like Blaise this time around, but I certainly don’t feel particularly confident. Both guys have shown they can drop matches. I do feel comfortable that both should make the finals. Davonte Mahomes of Michigan was someone I thought would make some serious waves this year. I’m disappointed to see he may not yet be recovered from his injury from last year. Maybe he starts rounding into form here? If so he’s a viable top 4 guy. Ricky Robertson notched some great wins a year ago for Wisconsin at 184. He’s a legitimate darkhorse here as well, though he’s been up and down at 174 so far this year. CP’s Predictions: 1 - Blaise Butler, Missouri 2 - Brian Realbuto, Cornell 3 - Lelund Weatherspoon, Iowa State 4 - Bryce Hammond, CSU Bakersfield 5 - Frank Affronti, Hofstra 6 - Fox Baldwin, UVA 184 Pre-Seeds 1 Gabe Dean, Cornell (1) 2 Blake Stauffer, Arizona State (3) 3 Kenny Courts, Ohio State (10) 4 Hayden Zillmer, North Dakota State (4) 5 Willie Miklus, Missouri (8) 6 Domenic Abounader, Michigan (12) 7 Mathew Miller, Navy (14) 8 Tom Sleigh, Bucknell X Factors: Dylan Gabel - Northern Colorado, Corey Griego - Oregon State A monstrous field at 184. A year ago we saw Gabe Dean drop an incredibly uncharacteristic two bouts here to Hayden Zilmer and Taylor Meeks. That said, having watched Gabe last week at the Grapple, I’m giving little chance to anyone. I like Dean to handle this field with little issue. If the seeds hold, I like Stauffer to make the finals. Though he and Courts have split matches it seems clear to me that Stauffer is clicking at a higher level right now. Hard to believe that Miklus and Zilmer could be a quarterfinal, but that’s what is likely with these seeds. Miklus is an interesting case. He has the talent to go with just about anybody, but just when you’re ready to crown him a legit top 3 or 4 guy, he’ll drop a bout to a far lower ranked guy. I feel there’s a very defined top 6 at Vegas. CP’s Predictions: 1 - Gabe Dean, Cornell 2 - Blake Stauffer, ASU 3 - Hayden Zilmer, NDSU 4 - Willie Miklus, Missouri 5 - Domenic Abounader, Michigan 6 - Kenny Courts, Ohio State 197 Pre-Seeds 1 J’den Cox, Missouri (2) 2 Max Huntley, Michigan (5) 3 Brett Pfarr, Minnesota (6) 4 Jake Smith, West Virginia (8) 5 Zach Nye, Virginia (9) 6 Jared Haught, Virginia Tech (15) 7 Mark Martin, Ohio State (17) 8 Derek Thomas, Utah Valley (19) X Factors: Trent Noon - Northern Colorado, Cody Crawford - Oregon State, (#18)Ruben Franklin - CSU Bakersfield, Jacob Taylor - Cornell This will be my first look in person at Brett Pfarr up at 197. I was particularly bullish on him a year ago. So far his results have been out of this world. In two matches he’s beaten Nathan Rotert by a combined score of 27-0. He’s also handled ranked opponents Zach Nye and Michael Boykin. I’m propping up Pfarr because I think he’s got a great shot at making the finals over Huntley. However, he’ll have a different sort of problem when J’Den Cox is on the other side of the line. I am very impressed with Pfarrs single, especially his finishing skill. That said, J’Den’s hips will be too much for Brett. I actually think Jake Smith from WVU has the physicality to really brawl with J’Den and potentially slow him down. For a time, at least. Ultimately I see J’Den overcoming but I think it’s a 1 td match into the 3rd. Two talents that I think could have nice tournaments are Mark Martin and Jared Haught. I think both have great leg attacks, the question for both is will they put their offense on display. CP’s Predictions: 1 - J’Den Cox, Missouri 2 - Brett Pfarr, Minnesota 3 - Max Huntley, Michigan 4 - Jake Smith, WVU 5 - Mark Martin, Ohio State 6 - Zach Nye, UVA HWT Pre-Seeds 1 Ty Walz, Virginia Tech (2) 2 Amarveer Dhesi, Oregon State (5) 3 Blaize Cabell, Northern Iowa (6) 4 Ross Larson, Oklahoma (18) 5 Michael Kroells, Minnesota (7) 6 Joe Stolfi, Bucknell (11) 7 Nick Tavanello, Ohio State (16) X Factors: Tanner Hall - ASU, Jeramy Sweany - Cornell, Garrett Ryan - Columbia The word going around is that Amarveer Dhesi will be trying to make the Canadian Olympic team this weekend, so we won’t be seeing him at Vegas. Likewise, Adam Coon is preparing for the Olympic Trials qualifier in Greco so we won’t be seeing him either. So it sets up Ty Walz and Blaize Cabell as the potential favorites. I really regret not being able to watch either of the Cabell/Walz matches. For whatever reason, Cabell has Walz’s number so far having beaten him 5-3 and 3-1 in their dual and at NCAA’s. They say styles make fights, and maybe Cabell is just a little too agile for Ty, but whatever is going it makes Ty tough to pick here. I did it with Brewer and I’m doing it here. Walz looks as good as ever right now. The key will be Walz getting to his attacks and if he can’t get his high crotch he might need to get to his low single. I’m going against the available evidence (folkstyle wise) and picking Ty. Ty did win this Spring at Universities but that should be taken with a grain of salt. Tanner Hall showed glimpses against Tavanello in their dual meeting but he couldn’t seal the win. I think we’ll see him continue to progress as time moves on. Mike Kroells may have the goods to play spoiler to my finals prediction. CP’s Predictions: 1 - Ty Walz, Virginia Tech 2 - Blaize Cabell, UNI 3 - Michael Kroells, Minnesota 4 - Ross Larson, Oklahoma 5 - Tanner Hall, Arizona State 6 - Nick Tavanello, Ohio State So with that here’s my team predictions: 1 - Ohio State 2 - Missouri 3 - Virginia Tech 4 - Cornell 5 - Michigan 6 - Minnesota 7 - UVA 8 - UNI 9 - WVU 10 - Oklahoma

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Christian Pyles

The time is almost here.  The season gets into full swing this weekend in Las Vegas.  With a whopping 80 ranked wrestlers in the Pre-Seeds, you can guarantee both high level wrestling as well as some guaranteed upsets!  

(ASICS FloRankings)

125 Pre-Seeds
1 Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State (1)
2 Joey Dance, Virginia Tech (3)
3 David Terao, American (7)
4 Dylan Peters, Northern Iowa (6)
5 Chasen Tolbert, Utah Valley (11)
6 Ronnie Bresser, Oregon State (8)
7 Zeke Moisey, West Virginia (9)
8 Conor Youtsey, Michigan (10)

X Factors: (#14) Barlow McGhee, Missouri,(#13) Paul Petrov - Bucknell, (#17) Josh Rodriguez - NDSU, Trey Andrews - Northern Colorado, Dalton Macri - Cornell

Would ya look at this weight!? NCAA Champ, finalist, and multiple All Americans and 8 or so other ranked guys make up this field. So you see this depth of talent and maybe you say “anybody’s weight!” You could say that, but I strongly believe Nathan Tomasello is a runaway train pulling away from this field. Maybe that’s bold (or maybe it’s conventional thinking, I’m not sure) considering there are two guys in this field alone (Peters and Dance) who have knocked him off. We saw Tomasello grow in terms of tactics throughout the year. While he was basically the same wrestler, he tightened up a few areas and avoided giving up careless points (suckbacks, getting put on his back from the feet). He was losing matches in weird ways for the most part. I think he wins this weight gets some revenge against Peters and Dance along the way.

We could have a Dance/Moisey quarter here, yowza. They had a dandy at the Hokie Open last year. Moisey has been struggling lately while Joey knocked off Nico Megaludis. That said all it takes is for Zeke to be “on” and this is a dog fight. I’m giddy over a potential Terao/Bresser quarterfinal as well. They are two extremely entertaining guys to watch, especially from the neutral position. Bresser has lightning quick leg attacks as well as feet to back potential, Terao has the best throw-bys in D1 and is a bear on top with legs. I’d be surprised to see this end low scoring. Barlow McGhee with extra recovery time will be a factor at 125. Paul Petrov is always dangerous as well and has knocked off some big guns including Zeke Moisey.

Prediction wise, I feel very comfortable in the 1st and 2nd placers. Beyond that I think this weight is incredibly even with unseeded guys having top 3 or 4 potential in this field. I like Moisey to have a bounce back tournament. The big stage of Vegas and this field and the flow of a tournament will favor the Mountaineer.

CP’s Predictions
1 - Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State
2 - Joey Dance, Virginia Tech
3 - Zeke Moisey, WVU
4 - David Terao, American
5 - Dylan Peters, UNI
6 - Barlow McGhee, Missouri

133 Pre-Seeds
1 Cody Brewer, Oklahoma (1)
2 Ryan Taylor, Wisconsin (3)
3 Nahshon Garrett, Cornell (5)
4 Johnni DiJulius, Ohio State (6)
5 Rossi Bruno, Michigan (7)
6 Earl Hall, Iowa State (4)
7 George DiCamillo, Virginia (11)
8 Josh Martinez Air Force (18)

X Factors: Josh Alber - UNI, Daniel DeShazer - Nebraska-Kearney, Esteban Gomez-Rivera - American, Grimaldi Gonzalez - Bucknell, (#14) Mackenzie McGuire - Kent State, Zach Synon - Missouri

Another silly, silly field. Earl Hall is a 6 seed, good gracious. Interestingly enough there are two guys in the field with wins over #1 Cody Brewer: Johnni DiJulius and Earl Hall. Since those losses Brewer has transformed into a full-fledged PUNISHER. His length and power at 133 is incredible. He has drastically improved his ability to get to legs and finish. He can shoot from just about anywhere and whether it’s head outside or inside he has about 10 different ways to finish. On top he’s equally punishing. His head/hands defense isn’t the best at this weight, but it doesn’t need to be with his ridiculous point scoring potential.

I think the biggest challenge to Brewer is Nahshon Garrett. I think if anyone in this entire NCAA field can dethrone Brewer it’s Nahshon. I think he’ll be able to get to legs against Brewer and I think his go behinds could present problems against Brewer who can take errant shots (and typically go unpunished). Garrett could have an angle before Brewer gets a hand on a leg. That’s a problem nobody at 133 really presented to Cody a year ago. Nahshon’s path to Brewer on paper looks dicey. A quarter against Hall, semi against Taylor all for the right to face Brewer. I think he gets there, however.

I also give George DiCamillo a real shot against Ryan Taylor if they hit in the quarters. A lot of talent at this weight as well as x-factors. I’m going out on a limb. Give me Nahshon to run the gauntlet. I think Nahshon’s ability to get to legs and go-behinds are the difference in what will be an amazing match. Besides, me incorrectly picking against Cody Brewer has become a regular fixture on FloWrestling. Let’s keep it rolling.

CP’s Predictions:
1 - Nahshon Garrett - Cornell
2 - Cody Brewer - Oklahoma
3 - George DiCamillo - UVA
4 - Ryan Taylor - Wisconsin
5 - Earl Hall - Iowa State
6 - Rossi Bruno - Michigan


141 Pre-Seeds
1 Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech (8)
2 Tommy Thorn, Minnesota (19)
3 Todd Preston, Harvard (10)
4 Jamel Hudson, Hofstra (14)
5 Micah Jordan, Ohio State (20)
6 Danny Sabatello, Purdue (16)

X Factors: George Fisher, Michigan, Trevor Jauch - Northern Iowa, Matt Manley - Missouri, Dante Rodriguez - Iowa State, Tyler Smith - Bucknell, Ian Nickell - CSU Bakersfield

I love Micah Jordan against this field. Consider he already has beaten #1 seed Solomon Chishko a handful of times going back to Ironman and through their redshirt seasons a year ago. Micah has shown zero negative signs of a bad weight cut at this point. In fact he’s bizarrely active with great motion and constant leg attacks. He’s not the hammer Bo is on top, but he ain’t bad.

I think this is a very intriguing spot for Chishko. I think he will be in a number of matches that hang in the balance that could leave him prone to being upset. He’s still adjusting to the hour weigh-in in my opinion. With a number of talents in the field it could end up being a tough outing for a one seed. Tommy Thorn has looked the part early taking out Randy Cruz and hanging in matches with some of the best guys in the country. His leg attacks will improve as time goes on and he’s already tough to score on and a great top wrestler.

CP’s Predictions:
1 - Micah Jordan, Ohio State
2 - Tommy Thorn, Minnesota
3 - Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech
4 - Todd Preston, Harvard
5 - Danny Sabatello, Purdue
6 - Jamel Hudson, Hofstra

149 Pre-Seeds
1 Lavion Mayes, Missouri (4)
2 Michael DePalma, Kent State (9)
3 Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech (12)
4 Davion Jeffries, Oklahoma (18)
5 Alec Pantaleo, Michigan (11)
6 Gabe Moreno, Iowa State (15)
7 Matt Kraus, Arizona State (17)
8 Geordan Martinez, Boise State

X Factors: Joey Delgado - Oregon State, Matt Frisch - The Citadel, Joe Galasso - Cornell, Victor Lopez - Bucknell, Clayton Ream - NDSU

I’m very curious to watch Michael DePalma. He’s someone whose talent is undeniable having notched wins over Grajales, Habat and others. The other side of the coin shows Mike as a wrestler who is capable of dropping matches to a number of guys. This field will be looking up at All American Lavion Mayes, the only AA in this field. Though he’s up a weight, I feel confident in him running to a title here. I think his biggest challenge could lie at the hands of Alec Pantaleo. Defensively he is the best in this field. I could see him frustrating Lavion and sneaking a TD for a win. I wouldn’t predict it, but if Lavion goes down it’s probably that sort of scenario.

I tell you very truthfully that 2-8 is going to be the ultimate crapshoot. Guys like Pantaleo, Moreno and Mastriani could all vie for the finals spot. Freshman Davion Jeffries can really cement himself as a viable AA contender with a nice run here. I feel great about Lavion and the rest I’m throwing at the wall, we’ll see what sticks.

CP’s Predictions:
1 - Lavion Mayes, Missouri
2 - Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech
3 - Alec Pantaleo, Michigan
4 - Gabe Moreno, Iowa State
5 - Davion Jeffries, Oklahoma
6 - Michael DePalma, Kent State

157 Pre-Seeds
1 Ian Miller, Kent State (2)
2 Nick Brascetta, Virginia Tech (4)
3 Joey Lavallee, Missouri (14)
4 Doug Welch, Purdue (10)
5 Aaron Walker, The Citadel (12)
6 Dylan Cottrell, West Virginia (17)
7 Jake Ryan, Ohio State (20)
8 John Boyle, American 

X Factors: Markus Scheidel - Columbia, Justin Staudenmayer - Brown, (#19)Andrew Atkinson - UVA , (#16) Russell Parsons - Army, Oliver Pierce - ASU, Abraham Rodriguez - Oregon State,

This could set up to be a great final between Miller and Brascetta but I am not sold that we’ll see Brascetta. In fact I am sure of it. So I won’t factor Nick into this equation. Likewise I don’t think we’ll see LaVallee for Missouri. He is still preserving his redshirt for the time being. So this leaves Miller all by his lonesome here. We’ve seen Doug Welch have some really nice moments, but they have been few and far between since he landed himself in the top 10 a year ago.

I’m excited to get a look at Dylan Cottrell of WVU. I think he’s a viable finalist contender against this field.
Jake Ryan of Ohio State has looked good early but has struggled to open up his offense.

It is tough to see a scenario where Ian Miller drops a match, though he’s not necessarily upset-proof. He’s got the most offense of anyone in this field and is as exciting as anyone here regardless of weight. It will be fun watching his path to a title.

CP’s Predictions:
1 - Ian Miller, Kent State
2 - Doug Welch, Purdue
3 - Markus Scheidel, Columbia
4 - Dylan Cottrell, WVU
5 - Jake Ryan, Ohio State
6 - Andrew Atkinson, UVA


165 Pre-Seeds
1 Bo Jordan, Ohio State (#1 at 174)
2 Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin (2)
3 Cooper Moore, Northern Iowa (3)
4 Clark Glass, Oklahoma (20)
5 Duke Pickett, Cornell
6 Tanner Weatherman, Iowa State (13)
7 Seth Thomas, Oregon State
8 Garrett Sutton, Michigan

X Factors: (#12) David McFadden - Virginia Tech, (#14) Daniel Lewis - Missouri, Adam Fierro - CSU Bakersfield

I’m struggling to see how a Jordan v. Jordan final doesn’t become a reality. The two hit last year in the Big 10 Finals with Isaac getting the win. If those two hit I feel strongly that Bo gets the win here. Maybe there’s an “older cousin” dynamic at play that I don’t really get, but I see Bo able to finish the attacks this time around. That will be the difference.

Looking at the other players I see two unseeded guys: Daniel Lewis and David McFadden having a great shot at making serious noise. Lewis has a win over Cooper Moore from a year ago and McFadden has already taken out Weatherman and Shakur Rasheed. Lewis took some lumps at Joe Parisi and I want to see if he recovers. McFadden wrestles with incredible confidence. I think top 3 is possible for him this weekend but probably don’t have the guts to predict him to beat someone as good as Moore.

CP’s Predictions:
1 - Bo Jordan, Ohio State
2 - Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin
3 - Cooper Moore, UNI
4 - David McFadden, Virginia Tech
5 - Daniel Lewis, Missouri
6 - Tanner Weatherman, Iowa State

Here's the last Jordan v. Jordan meeting:



174 Pre-Seeds
1 Brian Realbuto, Cornell (3)
2 Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech (5)
3 Blaise Butler, Missouri (4)
4 Lelund Weatherspoon, Iowa State (11)
5 Matt Reed, Oklahoma (20)
6 Bryce Hammond, CSU Bakersfield (15)
7 Jadaen Bernstein, Navy
8 Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin (13)

X Factors: (19) Frank Affronti - Hofstra, Fox Baldwin - UVA, Davonte Mahomes - Michigan

Like Brascetta, I don’t think we’ll be seeing Epperly for Virginia Tech. This creates a pretty clear path to the finals for Realbuto and Butler. I love the idea of a rematch here. These two had a great battle 2 years ago at CKLV. With Bo Jordan down at 165, 174 became even more wide open. Butler has notched bigger wins at this weight but Realbuto really hasn’t had many opportunities to do that as of yet. I like Blaise this time around, but I certainly don’t feel particularly confident. Both guys have shown they can drop matches. I do feel comfortable that both should make the finals.

Davonte Mahomes of Michigan was someone I thought would make some serious waves this year. I’m disappointed to see he may not yet be recovered from his injury from last year. Maybe he starts rounding into form here? If so he’s a viable top 4 guy. Ricky Robertson notched some great wins a year ago for Wisconsin at 184. He’s a legitimate darkhorse here as well, though he’s been up and down at 174 so far this year.

CP’s Predictions:
1 - Blaise Butler, Missouri
2 - Brian Realbuto, Cornell
3 - Lelund Weatherspoon, Iowa State
4 - Bryce Hammond, CSU Bakersfield
5 - Frank Affronti, Hofstra
6 - Fox Baldwin, UVA

184 Pre-Seeds
1 Gabe Dean, Cornell (1)
2 Blake Stauffer, Arizona State (3)
3 Kenny Courts, Ohio State (10)
4 Hayden Zillmer, North Dakota State (4)
5 Willie Miklus, Missouri (8)
6 Domenic Abounader, Michigan (12)
7 Mathew Miller, Navy (14)
8 Tom Sleigh, Bucknell

X Factors: Dylan Gabel - Northern Colorado, Corey Griego - Oregon State

A monstrous field at 184. A year ago we saw Gabe Dean drop an incredibly uncharacteristic two bouts here to Hayden Zilmer and Taylor Meeks. That said, having watched Gabe last week at the Grapple, I’m giving little chance to anyone. I like Dean to handle this field with little issue. If the seeds hold, I like Stauffer to make the finals. Though he and Courts have split matches it seems clear to me that Stauffer is clicking at a higher level right now.

Hard to believe that Miklus and Zilmer could be a quarterfinal, but that’s what is likely with these seeds. Miklus is an interesting case. He has the talent to go with just about anybody, but just when you’re ready to crown him a legit top 3 or 4 guy, he’ll drop a bout to a far lower ranked guy. I feel there’s a very defined top 6 at Vegas.

CP’s Predictions:
1 - Gabe Dean, Cornell
2 - Blake Stauffer, ASU
3 - Hayden Zilmer, NDSU
4 - Willie Miklus, Missouri
5 - Domenic Abounader, Michigan
6 - Kenny Courts, Ohio State

197 Pre-Seeds
1 J’den Cox, Missouri (2)
2 Max Huntley, Michigan (5)
3 Brett Pfarr, Minnesota (6)
4 Jake Smith, West Virginia (8)
5 Zach Nye, Virginia (9)
6 Jared Haught, Virginia Tech (15)
7 Mark Martin, Ohio State (17)
8 Derek Thomas, Utah Valley (19)

X Factors: Trent Noon - Northern Colorado, Cody Crawford - Oregon State, (#18)Ruben Franklin - CSU Bakersfield, Jacob Taylor - Cornell

This will be my first look in person at Brett Pfarr up at 197. I was particularly bullish on him a year ago. So far his results have been out of this world. In two matches he’s beaten Nathan Rotert by a combined score of 27-0. He’s also handled ranked opponents Zach Nye and Michael Boykin. I’m propping up Pfarr because I think he’s got a great shot at making the finals over Huntley. However, he’ll have a different sort of problem when J’Den Cox is on the other side of the line. I am very impressed with Pfarrs single, especially his finishing skill. That said, J’Den’s hips will be too much for Brett.

I actually think Jake Smith from WVU has the physicality to really brawl with J’Den and potentially slow him down. For a time, at least. Ultimately I see J’Den overcoming but I think it’s a 1 td match into the 3rd. Two talents that I think could have nice tournaments are Mark Martin and Jared Haught. I think both have great leg attacks, the question for both is will they put their offense on display.

CP’s Predictions:
1 - J’Den Cox, Missouri
2 - Brett Pfarr, Minnesota
3 - Max Huntley, Michigan
4 - Jake Smith, WVU
5 - Mark Martin, Ohio State
6 - Zach Nye, UVA

HWT Pre-Seeds
1 Ty Walz, Virginia Tech (2)
2 Amarveer Dhesi, Oregon State (5)
3 Blaize Cabell, Northern Iowa (6)
4 Ross Larson, Oklahoma (18)
5 Michael Kroells, Minnesota (7)
6 Joe Stolfi, Bucknell (11)
7 Nick Tavanello, Ohio State (16)

X Factors: Tanner Hall - ASU, Jeramy Sweany - Cornell, Garrett Ryan - Columbia

The word going around is that Amarveer Dhesi will be trying to make the Canadian Olympic team this weekend, so we won’t be seeing him at Vegas. Likewise, Adam Coon is preparing for the Olympic Trials qualifier in Greco so we won’t be seeing him either.

So it sets up Ty Walz and Blaize Cabell as the potential favorites. I really regret not being able to watch either of the Cabell/Walz matches. For whatever reason, Cabell has Walz’s number so far having beaten him 5-3 and 3-1 in their dual and at NCAA’s. They say styles make fights, and maybe Cabell is just a little too agile for Ty, but whatever is going it makes Ty tough to pick here. I did it with Brewer and I’m doing it here. Walz looks as good as ever right now. The key will be Walz getting to his attacks and if he can’t get his high crotch he might need to get to his low single. I’m going against the available evidence (folkstyle wise) and picking Ty. Ty did win this Spring at Universities but that should be taken with a grain of salt.

Tanner Hall showed glimpses against Tavanello in their dual meeting but he couldn’t seal the win. I think we’ll see him continue to progress as time moves on. Mike Kroells may have the goods to play spoiler to my finals prediction.

CP’s Predictions:
1 - Ty Walz, Virginia Tech
2 - Blaize Cabell, UNI
3 - Michael Kroells, Minnesota
4 - Ross Larson, Oklahoma
5 - Tanner Hall, Arizona State
6 - Nick Tavanello, Ohio State

So with that here’s my team predictions:

1 - Ohio State
2 - Missouri
3 - Virginia Tech
4 - Cornell
5 - Michigan
6 - Minnesota
7 - UVA
8 - UNI
9 - WVU
10 - Oklahoma