Over 600 wrestlers are registered to compete in Akron, Ohio, this weekend at the UWW University Freestyle Nationals. All the senior-level weights will be competed plus 80kg. The brackets will range from large to quite large, with the smallest being 97kg with 48 competitors and the largest being 65kg with an astounding 98 registered wrestlers.

The Greco guys will kick things off with their cadets and university tournament on Friday. Then it will be leg-grabbing time for the next two days, with the prelims for all the cadet and university freestyle weights on Saturday followed by the finals on Sunday. 

FloWrestling will keep you updated with all things Akron on our coverage page, and every match will be streamed LIVE. 



Over 100 clubs will be sending wrestlers to University Nationals, creating monster brackets with as many as 10 matches for wrestlers who take the long road through the consolations to the third-place bout. 

To participate in University Nationals, wrestlers must be between the ages of 17-27 and be either currently enrolled at an institution of higher learning or have graduated in the previous year.

Plenty of hammers will be making their way to the Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House on the campus of the University of Akron. We will be highlighting a list of contenders and, because we love a challenge, predicting the top five finishers per weight class before the brackets are released.

57kg

Contenders

Connor Schram, Stanford - California RTC
Ethan Lizak, Minnesota Storm
Sean Russell, Edinboro Regional Training Center
Alexander Mackall, Rutgers
Brock Hudkins, Northern Illinois RTC
Danny Vega, C-RTC
Gary Harding, OKST/Cowboy Wrestling Club
Gerald Wert, Broncs Wrestling Club
Ibrahim Bunduka, George Mason
Kyle Norstrem, SERTC-VT
Luke Welch, Boilermaker RTC
Perez Perez, University of Iowa
Skyler Petry, Minnesota Storm
Thomas Cox, Wolfpack Wrestling Club

A trio of All-American headline the lowest weight. Minnesota's Ethan Lizak made the finals of the 2017 NCAA tournament in St. Louis, a big improvement from the previous year when he was stopped in the round of 16. There will be two other All-Americans in Edinboro's Sean Russell, who placed seventh last year, and Stanford's Connor Schram, who placed eighth in 2016.

Those three will have 52 other wrestlers to contend with, which is shockingly below average for entrants at this year's event. Gary Wayne Harding will have an opportunity to shine, having been eclipsed in the Oklahoma State lineup by underclassmen Nick Piccinnini and Kaid Brock, despite qualifying for two NCAA tournaments in his freshman and sophomore years. Other NCAA qualifiers providing depth to this university field include Northern Illinois' Brock Hudkins and George Mason's Ibrahim Bunduka.

Spey's Spredictions

1. ​Ethan Lizak
   
2. Sean Russell
3. Connor Schram
4. Kyle Norstrem
5. Gary Harding

You can watch Lizak beat Virginia's upstart Jack Mueller to make the finals of the 2017 NCAAs in the video below. 

61kg

Contenders

Cameron Kelly, Ohio Bobcat Wrestling Club
Daniel DeShazer, Minnesota Storm
Jake Gromacki, Clarion RTC
Markus Simmons, C-RTC
Noah Gonser, Eastern Michigan
Tyshawn White, Mat Town USA
William Erneste, Missouri Wrestling Foundation
Ben Thornton, Boilermaker RTC
Brock Rathbun, University of Iowa
Chas Tucker, New York RTC
Dennis Gustafson, SERTC-VT
Ian Parker, C-RTC
Nathan Boston, Campbell
Phillip Laux, University of Iowa
Sean Nickell, Cal State Bakersfield
Taylor LaMont, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club
Will Clark Wolfpack, Wrestling Club

The 61kg weight class provides quite a bit of depth, though not as much in the way of NCAA All-Americans. One of the most intriguing entrants is Daniel DeShazer, who recently graduated from Division II Nebraska-Kearney. Deshazer finished third at the 2016 NCAA DII tournament but has had some very competitive senior-level freestyle matches recently. 

A slew of DI national qualifiers have also entered at 61, including Ohio's Cameron Kelly, Clarion's Jake Gromacki, Eastern Michigan's Noah Gonser, Missouri's William "John" Erneste, Virginia Tech's Dennis Gustafson, and Cal State Bakersfield's Sean Nickell. Also looking to make an impression in Akron is Iowa's Phillip Laux, who will hope to make the starting lineup for the Hawkeyes following the graduation of Thomas Gilman and Cory Clark.

This year's 61 bracket may also contain some future All-Americans, as several blue-chip recruits who have been redshirting have entered, such as Cornell's Chaz Tucker, Utah Valley's Taylor LaMont, and Iowa State's Ian Parker and Markus Simmons

Spey's Spredictions

1. ​Daniel DeShazer
2. Taylor LaMont
3. Dennis Gustafson
4. Cameron Kelly
5. John Erneste

You can watch the video below to see DeShazer show off his freestyle skills when he beat the very tough Andrew Hochstrasser at the U.S. Open from last April.

65kg

Contenders

Brock Zacherl, Clarion RTC
Colton McCrystal, Nebraska Wrestling Training Center
Earl Hall, C-RTC
Kaid Brock, OKST/Cowboy Wrestling Club
Thomas Thorn, Minnesota Storm
Anthony Cefolo, Broncs Wrestling Club
Alex Madrigal, Virginia Beach Regional Training Center
Austin Eicher, Michigan State
Brent Moore, SERTC-VT
Chad Red, Nebraska Wrestling Training Center
Collin Purinton, Nebraska Wrestling Training Center
Dante Rodriguez, C-RTC
Jamal Morris, Wolfpack Wrestling Club
Michael Longo, Sooner Wrestling Club
Michael Magaldo, OKST/Cowboy Wrestling Club
Mitch Bengtson, Bison Wrestling Club
Nathan Limmex, Boilermaker RTC
Russell Rohlfing, Cal State Bakersfield
Tyson Dippery, Broncs Wrestling Club

The entries for 65kg nearly hit the century mark, with 98 competitors filling out this gargantuan bracket. Headlining this massive collection of 143-pounders is NCAA fifth-place finisher Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State and Iowa State's two-time All-American Earl Hall. Both Brock and Hall will be wrestling at a higher weight class than where we last saw them in college, but both are incredible athletes and should have no problem keeping up with the competition. 

Others who could challenge in this incredibly deep weight class include All-American Tommy Thorn from Minnesota and NCAA qualifiers Brock Zacherl of Clarion and Colton McCrystal of Nebraska. Making things interesting for Cornhuskers fans is the entry of Chad Red and Collin Purinton, who are both Nebraska teammates with McCrystal.

Spey's Spredictions

1. ​Kaid Brock
2. Earl Hall
3. Tommy Thorn
4. Chad Red
5. Brock Zacherl

Brock showed he was an NCAA contender when he won the 2017 Southern Scuffle over Lehigh's Scotty Parker, which you can watch in the video below.

70kg

Contenders

Brandon Sorensen University of Iowa
Christian Pagdilao, ASU Wrestling
Jason Tsirtsis, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club
Kevin Jack, Wolfpack Wrestling Club
Max Thomsen, Panther Wrestling Club RTC
Andrew Crone, University of Wisconsin
Coleman Hammond, Cal State Bakersfield
Gary Dinmore, Broncs Wrestling Club
Jonce Blaylock, OKST/Cowboy Wrestling Club
Josh Heil, Campbell
Josh Maruca, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club
Kennedy Monday, Tar Heel Wrestling Club
Larry Early, Virginia Beach Regional Training Center
Mitch Finesilver, Blue Blood Wrestling Club
Nicholas Villarreal, ASU Wrestling
Paul Fox, Stanford - California RTC
Ryan Blees, SERTC-VT
Tristen Moran, OKST/Cowboy Wrestling Club

Few weights in Akron will be able to match 70kg in terms of star power. Arizona State's Jason Tsirtsis is one of the two NCAA champions who will be at the 2017 University Freestyle tournament (spoiler alert, the other is Ohio State's Myles Martin at 86kg). This weight also features Iowa's Brandon Sorensen, who finished fourth, second, and third at the last three NCAAs, as well as North Carolina State's Kevin Jack, who has two All-American honors (fifth an third) in three trips to the national championships without the benefit of a redshirt. 

Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen and Stanford's Paul Fox have also reached the NCAA podium steps before, but they will have to battle stout competition to earn a medal in a very crowded field of 88 wrestlers. Duke's Mitch Finesilver and Wisconsin's Andrew Crone are bloodround finishers who could very well outperform their NCAA finishes in Akron.

Spey's Spredictions

1. ​Brandon Sorenson
2. Kevin Jack
3. Mitch Finesilver
4. Jason Tsirtsis
   
5. Max Thomsen

Sorensen won third place on his third trip to the NCAAs. You can watch him take out Ohio State's Micah Jordan to earn that step on the podium in the video below.

74kg

Contenders

Bryant Clagon, Broncs Wrestling Club
Chance Marsteller, Mat Town USA
Joseph Lavallee, Missouri Wrestling Foundation
Lorenzo De La Riva, Cal State Bakersfield
Andrew Fogarty, Bison Wrestling Club
Benjamin Heyob, Golden Pride Wrestling Club
Brandon Dallavia Stanford - California RTC
Colston Diblasi, C-RTC
Connor Flynn, Missouri Wrestling Foundation
John Van Brill, Rutgers
Jonathan Schleifer, Princeton Wrestling Club
Josh Shields, Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club
Richard Viruet, Brown-Unattched
Seldon Wright, Virginia Beach Regional Training Center
Thomas Bullard, Wolfpack Wrestling Club
Tyrel White, New York City Regional Training Center

A very balanced weight class, 74kg has a good mix of NCAA qualifiers, redshirt studs, and wild cards. Missouri's 2017 finalist Joey Lavallee represents the highest-credentialed wrestler in the weight, at least when considering collegiate accomplishments. Clarion's Chance Marsteller is perhaps the most decorated high school wrestler in recent memory and, after a few false starts, looks to be finally ready to achieve success at the next level. 

Rider's BJ Clagon also has an All-American honor to his name, finishing fifth as a freshman and falling agonizingly close this past year as a junior, losing to Virginia Tech's Sal Mastriani by one point in the round of 12. Princeton's Jonathan Schleifer, Rutgers' John Van Brill, North Dakota State's Andrew Fogarty, Cal State Bakersfield's Lorenzo De La Riva, Arizona State's Josh Shields, Old Dominion's Seldon Wright, North Carolina State's Thomas Bullard, and Columbia's Tyrel White have all made it to the big dance before and will all be in the running for a medal in Akron. 
 

Spey's Spredictions

1. ​Chance Marsteller
2. Joey Lavallee
3. BJ Clagon
4. Lorenzo De La Riva
5. Josh Shields

Marsteller placed seventh in the senior freestyle tournament at the U.S. Open last April. You can watch his victory over wily veteran Dan Vallimont to earn that place in the video below. 

80kg

Contenders

Daniel Lewis Missouri Wrestling Foundation
Devin Skatzka, Hoosier Wrestling Club
Andrew McNally, Eastern Michigan
Austin Reese, Ohio Bobcat Wrestling Club
Brandon Krone, Minnesota Storm
Cody Hughes, SERTC-VT
Daniel Bullard, Wolfpack Wrestling Club
Forrest Przybysz, App State RTC
Jacob Morrissey, Boilermaker RTC
Jon Jay Chavez, New York RTC
Jonathan Viruet, New England RTC
Jordan Atienza, Central Michigan
Joseph Grello, Rutgers
Joseph Gunther, University of Iowa
Kaleb Young, University of Iowa
Kimball Bastian, Wolverine Wrestling Club
Logan Gruszka, Southern Illinois Training Center
Ty Schoffstall, Edinboro Regional Training Center
Wayne Stinson, Broncs Wrestling Club

Though you won't see it at the UWW senior freestyle world championships, 80kg is a much-needed weight class to fill the 26-pound gap between 74kg and 86kg. In Akron, 80kg will be a very top-heavy weight class, with Missouri's Daniel Lewis being easily the most credentialed wrestler in the bracket. Lewis is a two-time All-American, placing fourth and sixth as a freshman and sophomore, respectively.

Looking to prove their mettle against elite competition will be several redshirt freshmen such as Iowa's Kaleb Young, Rutgers' Joe Grello, and SIUE's Logan Gruszka as well as NCAA qualifiers such as Purdue's Jacob Morrissey, Appalachian State's Forrest Przbysz, Iowa's Joey Gunther, and Indiana's Devin Skatzka.

Spey's Spredictions

1. ​Daniel Lewis
2. Devin Skatzka
3. Joey Gunther
4. Forrest Przybysz
5. Kimball Bastian

You can watch Lewis pin Illinois' Steven Rodrigues in the consolation semifinals at the 2016 NCAA tournament in the video below.

86kg

Condtenders

Myles Martin, Titan Mercury Wrestling Club/Ohio RTC
Nicholas Gravina, Rutgers
Peter Renda, Wolfpack Wrestling Club
Andrew Labrie, New England RTC
Christian Lafragola, New England RTC
Dakota Geer, Edinboro Regional Training Center
Dane Pestano, C-RTC
Gary Jantzer, Wolverine Wrestling Club
Jacob Holschlag, Panther Wrestling Club RTC
Jordan Pagano, Rutgers
Kevin Mulligan, Rutgers
Kevin Parker, Princeton Wrestling Club
Maxwell Dean, New York RTC

As has been the case at most recent events, 86kg (and it's imperial equivalent, 189 pounds) is one of the deepest weights of the tournament. Receiving top billing at 86kg in Akron will be Ohio State's national champion Myles Martin. He will be challenged by NCAA third-place finisher Pete Renda of North Carolina State. Rutgers' Nick Gravina is a two-time qualifier and bloodround finisher who should also contend for a title at this weight.

Brown University enters a pair of quality competitors in Andrew Labrie and CJ LaFragola. Edinboro's Dakota Geer and Northern Iowa's Jacob Holschlag both qualified for the 2017 NCAA tournament after impressive freshman-year campaigns and will be in the running for a medal this weekend.

Spey's Spredictions

1. ​​Myles Martin
   
2. Pete Renda
   
3. Nick Gravina
   
4. Dakota Geer
   
5. Jacob Holschlag

Below is Martin's historic true freshman victory over future NCAA champ Bo Nickal in the 2016 NCAA 174-pound finals.

97kg

Contenders

Tom Sleigh, Buffalo Valley RTC
Benjamin Darmstadt, New York RTC
Bobby Steveson, Minnesota Storm
Danny Chaid, Tar Heel Wrestling Club
David Showunmi, Stanford - California RTC
Jeric Kasunic, DCAC
Matthew Correnti, Rutgers

The brackets begin to thin out, comparatively, as we reach the upper weights. At "only" 48 entries, 97kg is the smallest bracket. The top seed will likely be three-time NCAA qualifier Tom Sleigh of Bucknell.

Other NCAA qualifiers entered include Minnesota's Bobby Steveson, American's Jeric Kasunic, and Rutgers' Matthew Correnti. Cornell blue-chip recruit Ben Darmstadt will also look to make some noise in Akron this weekend.

Spey's Spredictions

1. ​Tom Sleigh
2. Jeric Kasunic
3. Ben Darmstadt
4. Bobby Steveson
5. Matthew Correnti

Sleigh fell just short of an EIWA title this year, losing in overtime to Penn's Frank Mattiace, but still had an impressive tournament, as evidenced by his semifinal victory over Army's Rocco Caywood, which you can watch in the video below.

125kg

Contenders

Billy Miller, Edinboro Regional Training Center
Michael Hughes, Blue and Gold RTC
Tanner Hall Sunkist, Kids Wrestling Club
Andrew Dunn, SERTC-VT
Andrew Gunning, Tar Heel Wrestling Club
Gannon Gremmel, C-RTC
Garrett Ryan, New York City Regional Training Center
Malik McDonald, Wolfpack Wrestling Club
Michael Boykin, Wolfpack Wrestling Club
Michael Kosoy, Wolfpack Wrestling Club
Rylee Streifel, Minnesota Storm

The 125kg heavyweights provide a little more star power than the light heavies at 97kg. Arizona State's Tanner Hall is the highest-finishing entrant, placing third at the 2017 NCAAs. Hofstra's Michael Hughes is coming off a stellar redshirt season, which included a win over All-American Denzel DeJournette of Appalachian State. Other redshirts of note in the tournament include Virginia Tech's Andrew Dunn, Iowa State's Gannon Gremmel, and Minnesota's Rylee Streifel.

Wolfpack fans will want to pay close attention, as North Carolina State will have a three 125kg wrestlers: Malik McDonald, Michael Kosoy, and Michael Boykin, all of whom are NCAA qualifiers. Garrett Ryan, the 2017 EIWA champ, will also be in contention for the title. 

Spey's Spredictions

1. ​Tanner Hall
2. Michael Hughes
3. Billy Miller
4. Rylee Streifel
5. Andrew Dunn

Hall had one of the best tournaments of his life at the 2017 NCAAs. You can watch him just barely beat Virginia Tech's Ty Walz in an epic battle of heavies in the video below. 

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