Wrestling Blogs - Martin Floreani

So it is this time of year again. Every great wrestler has a goal to win an NCAA Title and this tournament is the first major bench mark of the young 2008 season: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. I would say this is the first meet of the season where multiple top 10 and 20 teams bring their best squad to compete. It means something to win this tournament. It means your legit.

Im excited because we will get to see Hofstra go at it with Missouri and Michigan. Right now I would say these teams are the ones that are trying to break to the next level...the level of an NCAA Team Champions. Ohio State is young but able- they should emerge as the season goes on...Nebraska is under estimated but has still a lot to prove. And the same goes with Wisconsin a team on the rise, which has something to do with gold medal hopeful Donny Pritzlaff.

Some Matchups to look forward to: Lou Ruggirello and Tyler McCormick at 133 lbs. Tyler McCormick came into the year second but was beaten handily by Lou in their dual a week or so back. Tyler McCormick usually gets better as the year wears on so this will be an interesting second test. And is Lou really this good, where in the first dual of the year he is majoring the #2 ranked wrestler in the country before he gets a pin. If so he is a scary force in years to come. It will be good to see where Jimmy Kennedy from Illinois fits into all this whole process.

Im also interested in Harvard's Luis Caputo at 184lbs. Who is this guy? He had the tournament of his life at NCAAs last year and placed something like 7th. And how can we forget the young Jantzen, brother of NCAA Champ Jesse...he has got to be wrestling in this thing.

I also want to see these Nebraska Boys compete. I think they are under estimated this year...just a hunch but people are really over looking their whole team. I like their 197 lber Craig Brester. Even though they may be overlooked they still have a lot to prove and Vegas is just the Showcase. (Paul Donahoe should be a lock at 125lbs for this tournament).

The whole heavy weight class is disturbingly wide open on the national level and at this tourny...maybe this tournament can shed some light on this weight class as a whole. Ohio State's JD Bergman and Missouri's Mark Ellis are wild cards. JD Bergman because he moved up and Mark Ellis because he is maturing - wrestled inconsistent last year. Cant forget the Navy's heavy weight Ed Prendergast or the highest ranked heavy weight Wade Sauer from Cal State Fullerton. It will be interesting how he handles his early season high ranking. Is he going to crumble or stand tall?

You gotta stay tuned for this weekends coverage, and let me know...What other stories am I missing?