NCAA D1 Stock Report: Volatility At 174 & 197

NCAA D1 Stock Report: Volatility At 174 & 197

The NCAA D1 college wrestling stock report, where we look at the rankings and see who's moving up and who's going down. This is week 2's analysis.

Nov 14, 2017 by Andrew Spey
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Our weekly look at the big movers in the NCAA top 20 rankings continues. The 174- and 197-pound weight classes were particularly volatile during week two, though we saw individual stocks rise and fall across the board.

Check out our NCAA rankings for a full look at every weight and read ahead to see whose stock is going up and whose is on the way down.

STOCK GOING UP

No. 5 Josh Shields, Arizona State - 157lb
Folks, let's talk about Josh Shields. The sophomore Sun Devil started the year at No. 15 after going 1-2 at the 2017 NCAA tournament. In week one he beat then-No. 19 Andrew Crone and then-No. 12 Collin Heffernan en route to winning the Michigan State Open. Last week he beat two All-Americans, Alec Pantaleo and Micah Jordan, who were ranked Nos. 8 and 4 at 157 pounds at the time, respectively.

Folks, Josh Shields is having himself a nice start to the season.

STOCK GOING DOWN

No. 13 Ethan Ramos, North Carolina & No. 12 Drew Hughes, Michigan State - 174lb
A pair of upsets to two highly regarded 174-pounders have injected a great deal of volatility into this upper-weight division.

Ramos started the season at No. 7 but suffered two losses to lower-ranked wrestlers so far: Army's Ben Harvey, now ranked No. 18, and Purdue's Dylan Lydy, who's now ranked No. 20 and whose name incidentally is comprised over 33 percent by the letter "Y."

Hughes, meanwhile, also falls out of the top 10 after his loss to unranked Quinton Rosser of Northern Illinois.

Stock Going Up

No. 13 Dennis Gustafson, Virginia Tech - 133lb
The Hokies junior swept through the rankings on a gust of wind, buoyed by victories over three ranked wrestlers in the last two weeks: Cam Kelly, Anthony Tutolo, and Josh Terao. Gustafson gussied up his ranking to No. 13 after being unranked to start the season.

Watch Dennis Gustafson take out Josh Terao at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic:


Stock Going Down

No. 13 Thomas Haines, Lock Haven - 285lb
Haines tried to jockey for rankings positioning at the Journeyman Collegiate Classic, but most of the fruit from his proverbial loom came back spoiled. Haines suffered two BVDs (brutal, vicious defeats) to Lehigh's Jordan Wood and Oklahoma State's Derek White.

Wood and White are both highly regarded talents, however, and Haines only fell two spots. But if the trend continues, he would be moved beneath others. Under whom, exactly? To be determined.

Stock Going Up

No. 11 Troy Heilmann, North Carolina - 149lb
The senior from New Jersey has been raising hell, man. Heilmann started the season at No. 17 but has since peeled off victories against ranked opponents Matt Zovistoski and Geo Martinez. Heilmann has started the season a red-hot 7-0, and Tar Heels faithful are hoping he's turned the corner in his final year of eligibility.

Watch Troy Heilmann beat Geo Martinez at the Journeyman Northeast Duals:


Stock Going Down

No. 17 Steban Cervantes, Navy & No. 16 Daniel Chaid, North Carolina - 197lb
Cervantes and Chaid both added to the most protean of all the weight classes. However, fans should not be too discouraged that the Tar Heel and Midshipman fell from Nos. 11 and 13 to Nos. 16 and 17, respectively, as the most consistent thing about the 197-pound division has been its inconsistency.

Buy Or Sell: YOU MAKE THE CALL

No. 12 Geo Martinez, Oklahoma State - 149lb
Rankings watchers will be excused for complaints of whiplash. Geo Martinez started the season at No. 13, only to be switched out with his teammate Boo Lewallen, who slotted in at No. 11 during week two and was then switched back for Martinez at No. 12 here in the third week. Lewallen is said to be ineligible for the first half of the year, so the long-term bet may still be on him. Others, however, may prefer to double down on Geo Magic.

No. 4 Matt McCutcheon, Penn State - 197lb
Nittany Lions senior McCutcheon reportedly lost a wrestle-off to sophomore Anthony Cassar, who started both duals for Penn State this weekend. But after Cassar lost to unranked Garrett Hoffman of Bucknell in a dual meet, the question remains if Cassar or three-time NCAA qualifier Matt McCutcheon (or junior Shakur Rasheed for that matter) represents the best opportunity for the Lions in March. It will take a nervy investor to bank on any one of them this early in the season.

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