Wrestling Blogs - Ian McCutcheon
Midlands Preview
Ian McCutcheon
Flowrestling.org
Going into its 46th year, the Midlands is the most tradition-rich in season tournament in college wrestling. Looking at a list of former Midlands champions is simply a who’s who in the history of our sport. While a Midlands title is hardly the ultimate goal, it is a feather in your cap that means just a little bit more than most tournament titles. The theme of this year’s Midlands is uncertainty. Now is the time of the year where the picture starts to clear up as we near the end of the non-conference and tournament portion of team’s schedules. Yet while we have a much clearer idea than we did going into Vegas, we still have more questions than answers. Here is a quick weight-by-weight preview.
125
The top seed here is Charlie Falck of Iowa. Falck comes into the tournament with a gaudy 11-0 record, and wins over the 3, 4, 5, and 6 seeds in the tournament. The knock on Falck this year is that while he’s won, he hasn’t dominated, which is certainly the Iowa mantra. But he is incredibly difficult to score on, a skill which lends itself well to the grind it out style of tournaments.
Second seeded Brandon Precin of the host Northwestern Wildcats is lurking on the other side of the bracket. Precin pulled a huge upset at last year’s Midlands when he defeated Nick Simmons to reach finals. Should the seeds hold out, the Precin-Falck match up should be the first of many this season between the two All Americans.
Looking to be a bracket buster is sixth seeded freshmen sensation Scott Sentes of Central Michigan. Sentes was dramatically pinned by Falck at the Northeast Duals while he was leading. Sentes has bee one of the most impressive freshmen in the country this season, and a Midlands title certainly would give his young career momentum.
133
Any time a returning NCAA finalist and Midlands champion is seeded sixth, it means that a weight class is loaded. But that is exactly the position Joey Slaton of Iowa finds himself in. After a sluggish performance against second seeded Nick Fanthorpe of rival Iowa State to say the least, Slaton’s health and performance will be one of the major subplots of the tournament. Teammate Daniel Dennis is seeded fourth, and is looking to solidify his spot in the defending champ’s lineup.
In a weight class devoid of a favorite during the preseason, Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois has impressed everybody, defeating Jayson Ness of Minnesota at the All Star Classic and rolling to a title in Vegas. If he navigates this field, he’ll be the man to beat.
My wrestler to watch here is Steve Bell of Maryland. I’ve been touting him since the preseason as a wrestler who is ready to make the leap from good to great. He’s looked impressive all season, with a highlight win over Dennis at Northeast Duals. He’s hoping to be a household name by Tuesday night.
141
I said in my preview that Corey Jantzen of Harvard was going to go on an early season hot streak. Should he pull off a win here, that’ll make him 2 for 2 in the marquee tournaments of December. He’s looking more and more like one of the new stars of college wrestling.
However, while Jantzen has wrestled well, this weight is, both at Midlands and nationally, wide open. Second seeded Alex Tsirtsis of Iowa brings in the top national ranking, which he attained thanks to a reversal as time expired over third seeded Nick Gallick of Iowa State. Gallick has defeated defending national champion J Jaggers and could easily return the favor should he meet Tsirtsis in semi's. Tyler Nauman of Pitt is another rising star, who surprisingly made it to Vegas finals before falling to Jantzen.
149
Jake Patacsil of Purdue is one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the country. He’s long, vicious on top, and always a threat to pin. He’s also one of the most underrated wrestlers in the country. He was lost in the shuffle amidst the remarkable depth of 149 last year, but to fans of the Boilermakers and the Big Ten, they know he can go with anyone in America.
Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin, Steve Brown of Central Michigan, and Mitch Mueller of Iowa State are all top 10 wrestlers who will be vying for a title. Ruschell is one of the leaders of an underrated Wisconsin team, Brown is one of the leaders of the reloaded and ahead of schedule Chippewas, and Mueller’s points will be critical if the Cyclones are thinking upset.
Oh, and that Metcalf kid is pretty good too. He might win.
157
One of the things that has traditionally made Midlands such a great tournament is the turnout of post-graduate wrestlers. This year, 1996 NCAA champion and former Iowa State Cyclone Chris Bono comes in as the top seed, looking to win his 5th Midlands title since graduation. This is the first time the 34 year old Bono has entered since 2003.
The wily veteran’s top challenges will come from Cyler Sanderson of Iowa State and Michael Chandler of Missouri. Sanderson has been sharp all season, and seems to be blossoming here in his junior season. Chandler, who has been around seemingly forever, is one of the leaders of an experienced Missouri squad.
There also is a youth movement here at 157. Should the seeds play out according to plan, true freshman Jason Welch of Northwestern (who took 6th here as a high school senior) and Scott Winston of Rutgers will meet in quarterfinals, which is the dream match up for any partisans from New Jersey and California. These two have a mythical rivalry in the eyes of some fans, stemming from national high school rankings and message board state pride. While I doubt either wrestler cares about any of that, the potential match up is an intriguing story line.
165
Before the season started, returning 3rd place finisher Nick Marable of Missouri was the clear cut favorite. After some early season setbacks, it has become apparent that this weight is up for grabs. Marable comes into Midlands as the second seed looking to right the ship in possibly the most balanced top to bottom weight in the tournament.
Top seed Moza Fay of Northern Iowa has been impressive early on, sitting at 7-0 with a victory over third seeded Ryan Morningstar of Iowa as well as an All-Star win over Ohio State’s Colt Sponsellor. Jon Reader of Iowa State was last year’s runner up, and is also looking to avenge a one point loss to Morningstar earlier in the season. Morningstar looks as if the move up to 165 was the right one as he has outscored opponents 61-17 this season, and owns wins over Reader and sixth seeded Trevor Stewart of Central Michigan. The Big Ten is also represented by seeded wrestlers Luke Manuel of Purdue, Roger Smith-Bergsrud of Illinois, and Andrew Howe of Wisconsin.
174
The story at this weight is the impending battle between Iowa’s Jay Borschel and Missouri’s Raymond Jordan. Borschel is quietly one of the best wrestlers in Iowa’s star studded lineup and Jordan’s move down to 174 puts him in serious national title contention. These two will surely meet again down the line, but the impending rivalry could start here in finals.
Hoping to break that up will be wrestlers like Mike Cannon of American. Cannon was a surprise All American last season and wrestling at American is a great way to stay under the radar. He’ll be a test for Jordan should they meet in semis. On Borschel’s side of the bracket, Mike Letts of Maryland has been a man on fire during his redshirt year. He can cap off the end of the busy point of his tournament schedule with a win here.
184
Hometown hero Jake Herbert is the odds on favorite to win his third Midlands title in four years. This will be the first time the former national champion is unleashed on top competition this season. He’s one of the best wrestlers in the country and Midlands should be his official welcome back to college wrestling after taking an Olympic redshirt last season.
Herbert’s major challenge will come from Iowa’s Phil Keddy. Keddy has a huge gas tank and is a bruiser in the classic Iowa fashion. He has improved through the last two years as much as anybody in the country.
197
The top four seeds here stand out above the pack. Iowa State’s Jake Varner is could be the best wrestler in the country regardless of weight class. He mauled third seeded Hudson Taylor at the All Start Classic, and looks to finally have opened up on his feet. This in combination with his brute strength and riding ability is a dangerous combination for opponents.
Max Askren of Missouri is consistently one of the best upper weights in the country. His flexibility and funk is a nice style contrast to the strength and power of Varner. Dallas Herbst of Wisconsin has four pins in his five victories this season, but was shut out by Varner already once this season. Taylor, of Maryland, is very dangerous in scrambles and from top. However, he already has losses to Askren and Varner this season, and hopes to work some of his magic and get momentum back here.
285
Heavyweight will be hotly contested as Dave Zabriske of Iowa State, Mark Ellis of Missouri, and Kyle Massey of Wisconsin come in ranked second, third, and fourth in the country. Zabriskie is a light heavyweight, who’s quick on his feet and already has defeated Massey this season. Ellis is a competitor who comes into Midlands 15-1, his only blemish coming from top ranked Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State. Massey is a big powerful heavyweight who is a returning All American and one of the most exciting wrestlers in the weight class.
A potential bump in the road for the top seeds comes in Zach Shaeffer of Pitt. Although not nationally known, Shaeffer is a pinner through and through, and could wreak havoc on the bracket should he deck a few wrestlers and get on a roll.
Team
Iowa is the defending champion and clear cut favorite. They could have champs in seven weight classes, and plenty of bonus points. The teams with the best opportunity to play spoiler are Missouri and Iowa State. The Cyclones lost a close dual to the Hawkeyes, but figure to be much better built for tournaments. Missouri will score big points with Askren, Marable, Jordan, and Ellis, but strong tournaments from Chandler, and unseeded Dorian Henderson at 184 could have the Tigers thinking upset.
Predictions
125: Brandon Precin, Northwestern
133: Steve Bell, Maryland
141: Corey Jantzen, Harvard
149: Brent Metcalf, Iowa
157: Michael Chandler, Missouri
165: Jon Reader, Iowa State
174: Jay Borschel, Iowa
184: Jake Herbert, Northwestern
197: Jake Varner, Iowa State
285: Kyle Massey, Wisconsin
Team: Iowa Hawkeyes
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