Now that we have our sweet, sweet brackets for the NCAA Wrestling Championships, it's time to take a closer look at the weight classes. We're doing a deep dive into each division, rolling out previews one at a time, so you can pour over and digest everything before the first whistle in St. Louis on Thursday.

It's here! The 285-pound weight class, our 10th and final NCAA tournament preview.

And hey, it's the Snyder Man, reigning NCAA, world, and Olympic champion -- no big deal.

Last year, Kyle Snyder beat two-time NCAA champ Nick Gwiazdowski in the tournament finals in Madison Square Garden, in what was quite possibly the best heavyweight match in collegiate history. Snyder is also a decent freestyle wrestler. Five months after becoming NCAA champ, Snyder won an Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro representing the United States. So you know, pretty decent.

Whether due to graduation, injuries, or redshirting, only two other heavyweight All-Americans from 2016 return for the 2017 edition. As such, there will be some new faces on the podium steps this year.

We'll take a look at our largest title contenders next, followed by dark horses and a full set of predictions and analysis (2017 NCAA tournament seeds in parentheses).

Title Contenders

(1) Kyle Snyder, Ohio State
(2) Connor Medbery, Wisconsin
(3) Ty Walz, Virginia Tech
(4) Jacob Kasper, Duke

The undefeated Snyder is, naturally, the No. 1-ranked heavyweight and odds-on favorite to win. He wrestled a limited college schedule this year, but his victory over Connor Medbery in the Big Ten finals sealed his status as the top seed. Even with just 12 NCAA matches under his belt coming into this season's tournament, Snyder has still beaten the fourth-, seventh-, eighth-, and 12th-ranked heavyweights. And when Snyder wasn't wrestling folkstyle, he was going to places such as Ukraine, Siberia, and Iran, to wrestle freestyle against the best heavyweights in the world. It is safe to say that lack of adequate competition will not be a factor for the formerly teenage world champion.


Kyle Snyder: Lofty and kinglike.

Wisconsin's Connor Medbery gave Snyder his toughest folkstyle match this year in the aforementioned Big Ten tournament, Medbery's only loss on the season. A senior, Medbery also has wins over the third-, fourth-, seventh-, eighth-, and 12th-ranked 285-pounders. His No. 2 seed is not in question.

Likewise, Virginia Tech senior Ty Walz is the clear No. 3, suffering just two losses this year, one to Medbery and one to Jacob Kasper. Walz is the anchor of a Hokies lineup that could very well see the top four weights earn All-American honors.

Duke's fourth-seeded Jacob Kasper is our people's champion, having bumped all the way to 285 from 184 after his sophomore year. This year has been the Blue Devil senior's breakout season, notching six wins over top 10 opponents.

Dark Horses

(14) Thomas Haines, Lock Haven
(16) Garrett Ryan, Columbia
(US) Gage Hutchison, Eastern Michigan

Lock Haven sophomore Thomas Haines has been piling up wins this season, notching 31 victories for the Bald Eagles. He's ranked all the way up at the 11th spot in the Flo Top 20. If he can find a way to climb even higher and make the podium, he'll become Lock Haven's fifth All-American since the 2000 tournament.

Garrett Ryan surprised many fans with an EIWA championship a week ago. It appears Ryan has perfected the "foot trap" single-leg snatch, made famous by Iranian Olympian Reza Yazdani (aka Yazdani the Greatest). If the Columbia junior can find his way to the medal stand, he'll be just the third Lions wrestler to do so in the last 18 tournaments.

Eastern Michigan junior Gage Hutchison has had an up-and-down season but showed flashes of brilliance at the CKLV and Midlands tournaments. If Hutchison can regain his midseason form, he could a problem for the heavyweight field.

Upset Special

Besides our dark horses, keep an eye out for Joseph Goodhart of Drexel. Goodhart has quietly had a very solid season for the Dragons, climbing all the way up to the 15th spot on the Flo Top 20. Stanford's Nathan Butler, the No. 10 seed, is likewise very solid but was done no favors by drawing Goodhart in the first round. Goodhart beat Butler earlier in the year at a dual meet, and Butler will have to be at the top of his game to avoid a similar outcome in the rematch.

Spey's Spredictions

1. Kyle Snyder, Ohio State
2. Ty Walz, Virginia Tech
3. Connor Medbery, Wisconsin
4. Jacob Kasper, Duke
5. Nick Nevills, Penn State
6. Tanner Hall, Arizona State
7. Michael Kroells, Minnesota
8. Denzel Dejournette, Appalachian State

I think everything will go according to plans in the first two rounds, and all top eight seeds will advance to the quarterfinals. Things will similarly continue on script in that round, and the top four seeds will make it to the semifinal round.

After an epic battle with Nick Nevills in the quarterfinals to secure Duke's third All-American honor since 2000, I think Jacob Kasper will run out of gas Friday night and Kyle Snyder turns the match into a takedown fest on his way to his third consecutive NCAA finals.

Watch Snyder throw a whopping 19 points on the scoreboard against Nick Nevills in the video below:

On the other side of the bracket, I think Ty Walz pulls off the upset and takes out Connor Medbery to make his first-ever NCAA finals appearance after two previous All-American runs. Medbery beat Walz in sudden victory in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. However, I think Walz's regular-season loss to Kasper was a wake-up call, as he avenged that match in the ACC finals, and I think he'll be ready to do the same here.

Down in the consolation bracket, I think we'll see Medbery stomp his way to third place. He'll beat Nevills for the third time this season to reach the consi finals, where he'll meet Kasper. Kasper will be able to fend off a very tough Tanner Hall of Arizona State to reach that match, but his magical junior campaign will run out of juice and end with a loss to the redoubtable Medbery.

I think there is little separation between Nevills and the next three wrestlers who will place above him (with Snyder operating one level up from there), so it wasn't a difficult decision penciling the crafty Nittany Lion in above Hall in the fifth-place match.

In the battle for seventh place, I'm forecasting Minnesota senior Michael Kroells to beat Appalachian State senior Denzel Dejournette for the second time in the tournament. Unlike the 5/6 match, this was a difficult choice, as I am a big fan of Dejournette. Ultimately, the difference-maker for me came down to Kroells having wrestled probably the toughest heavyweight schedule this season, and I think he replicates his 2016 achievement with another seventh-place finish, his third time becoming an All-American.

There Will Be Bloodround

Dejournette making the podium means one of the top eight seeded wrestlers will not. And though I would not be surprised in the slightest if I am forced to eat these words later, I think Dejournette beats sixth-seeded Oklahoma State senior Austin Schafer in the bloodround, keeping him off the podium. Though Schafer has only a solitary loss this season, a 10-3 decision to Jacob Kasper, he also does not have a lot of top-tier wins. Victories over the eighth-, 13th-, 15th-, and 17th-ranked heavyweights is certainly formidable; however, Dejournette is right there with him with wins over the 12th- (twice), 13th-, and 20th-ranked (twice) heavies. Dejournette also had a closer match with Jacob Kasper, for whatever that is worth.

That might not be enough evidence for some, but I have a feeling the App State Mountaineer is due for a big tournament.

In the other bloodround matches, I think we'll see Nick Nevills knock off Joey Goodhart. Michael Kroells will beat Thomas Haines, and finally, Tanner Hall will end Edinboro sophomore Billy Miller's season.

Think you can make better picks? There's a very good chance you can! Here's the 285 bracket. Let me know what you think, and enjoy the championship, wrestling fans!