Midlands and Southern Scuffle

We all have had our turkeys, hams, mash-potatoes and gravy. We are stuffed (except those cutting all their extra pounds) and ready for the major mid season tournaments: Midlands and Southern Scuffle. These two tournaments are the test before the real deal.

Although Midlands isn?t what it used to be, it is still a premier tournament with a strong Big Ten showing. The real question at Midlands is how Iowa State is going to do against Iowa. Expect fireworks and a real battle for the team title. Iowa handily beat Iowa State earlier this month, but did so in a very intimidating setting at Hawkeye Arena. Iowa State?s wrestlers could have very well felt overwhelmed in such a hostile environment. Midlands is in Evanston, IL with a very neutral feeling to it, which may be a factor for Cael Sanderson to change the outcome. If Iowa State can top Iowa it may put them right back on track to be strong contenders for the national championship in March. On the other hand if Iowa wins the tournament they will be labeled legitimate contenders in March.

And then there is Central Michigan, a team that surprised some people at Reno when they beat Oklahoma State. Central Michigan is now a top ten team and is commanding respect. Watch to see if Central Michigan can do the improbable again.

Last but not least you have the hosts: Northwestern. They have quietly risen to be a top ten team from last year and are looking for a strong showing. This season they haven?t been tested but this tournament could a spark for their entire season. If either Northwestern or Central Michigan can pull this tournament out, watch out for those rankings to do a shuffle dance for the New Year.

As Midlands has leveled off in recent years a new tournament has come up on the screen as a premier tournament and that of course is the Southern Scuffle. Missouri and Minnesota the number 1 and 2 teams in the country square off at the Southern Scuffle in what will be an extremely revealing showdown. It looks as if 3 of the 10 weigh tclass champions are already decided by the fans and critics as Dustin Schlatter (149lbs), Ben Askren (174lbs) and Cole Konrad (285lbs). These wrestlers seem as though they can not be taken down.

What everyone wants to know is: Can Ben Askren (174lbs) pin his way through the tournament again? No one can stop talking about the dominance that Ben Askren is showing. He pins everyone in his weight class and usually does it within the first period! I wonder if he even gets a workout in for his matches.

At 197lbs the lingering question is Max, Ben?s brother, going to continue with his successful season with a title over Rinaldi from Cornell. We really don?t know how dominant Max is and this tournament will be one step closer to providing us with some insight.

At 125 lbs a weasly little scrapper named Tanner Gardner from Stanford will try and get to the finals to get a chance to go up against Troy Nickerson of Cornell. It could be a big opportunity for Tanner to move up in the rankings.

At 133 lbs Drew Headlee has a chance against Keller after he pinned Tyler McCormick a couple of days ago in Missouri. Tyler McCormick is on the other side of the bracket but may get his chance to prove it was a fluke if he can make it to the finals and upset the field.

The most wide open weight class at this tournament is at 184lbs, much like it is for the whole country. There is no clear front runner and this tournament has a chance to amplify the ambiguity at this weight class. If Kish can come away with the title he has a chance at the number one ranking if Herbert from Northwestern can get upset at Midlands. Look to see how Pucillo from Ohio State, Raymond Jordan of Missouri, and Clemson of Edinboro. Any one of these guys has a chance this weekend.

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