165 NCAA Preview

165 NCAA Preview

Oct 26, 2015 by Christian Pyles
165 NCAA Preview
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Christian Pyles

Much like 157, 165 features a superstar talent looking to cement their pound for pound status. Alex Dieringer is looking for his 3rd NCAA title this year. The Oklahoma State Cowboy has been nearly immaculate for 4 years finishing 3rd, 1st and 1st collectively at the NCAA tournament. I’ve commented previously that 165 is a weight that lacks in depth and perhaps that is a byproduct of Dieringer’s excellence. Even recently with Bo Jordan announcing a potential weight change it is not hard to speculate at least a part of the motivation: Get away from Ringer.

Alex Dieringer.  Photo by Tony Rotundo1. Alex Dieringer - Oklahoma State
2. Bo Jordan - Ohio State
3. Isaac Jordan - Wisconsin
4. Ethan Ramos - UNC
5. Cooper Moore - UNI
6. Daniel Lewis - Missouri
7. Jim Wilson - Stanford
8. Tanner Weatherman - Iowa State

Round of 12: Johnny Sebastian - Northwestern, Austin Wilson - Nebraska, Ryan Preisch - Lehigh, David McFadden - Virginia Tech

Round of 16: Max Rohskopf - NC State, Garrett Hammond - PSU, Steven Rodrigues - Illinois, Anthony Perrotti - Rutgers

Title Contenders:
Alex Dieringer
Bo Jordan
Isaac Jordan

My shortest list yet of title contenders yet and it still may be two guys too long. As great as Dieringer is, I really do believe in the Jordan cousins. Isaac is a proven giant killer having beaten Derek St. John and James Green in the same weekend as a Freshman. I think there are adjustments to be made for Bo, and I also don’t believe that he’ll be at 174 all year. Start the year there sure, but I believe eventually Bo comes back down. Dieringer dominated every aspect of the match against him so it’s tough to find a spot where he can exploit. If he can tighten up his positioning on his feet (that's the hard part) and get on top, perhaps he could ride him? Maybe it’s specious at best, but I see potential for an upset. We’ve seen bigger favorites lose to lesser wrestlers.

He’s the #1 pound for pound in the country for good reason. Ringer is as complete as they come. He has safe leg attacks that he finishes at an incredibly high rate. He gets to a leg and finishes. Defensively he’s incredibly difficult to open up. When you do attack Alex his re-shots are next level. I can’t recall seeing him ridden for the 3 years I’ve watched him. Even in his losses to Derek St. John he was able to get away for the most part. Those matches are ancient history now anyways. Dieringer is at his best on his feet, but can get a turn or two as well. He’s especially prolific with tilts. It’s tough to see a scenario where he’s beaten this year.

So I’m on the record for Bo heading back down to 165 eventually and these predictionsBo Jordan.  Photo by Tony Rotundo reflect that. Despite injuries keeping him out for much of the year he was incredibly effective. He wrestled back for 3rd and only fell to cousin Isaac and Ringer all year. He’s a bonus point machine able to put a hurting on guys with his legs. Additionally, he’s extremely physical and does a great job wearing out his opponents with constant pulling on the head and neck. He favors a single leg and can finish it effectively. His biggest hole is probably his bottom work. He’s not especially bad there, but it appears he doesn’t have a ton of confidence underneath. That was apparent when he chose neutral against Isaac Jordan when an escape could have tied the match. You can say that’s confidence in his neutral wrestling but at this level with defenses as good as they are, you need to be able to get that “free” point. You have to dig pretty deep to find weaknesses in his game all things considered. I think he reverses his loss to Isaac next time they meet as well.

As I mentioned before Isaac has beaten some bad, bad dudes before. He's tremendous in the handfight able to get to his single from a variety of holds.  Like most Jordan's he's a hammer on top able to ride for riding time as well as earning key nearfall points.  As high as the highs can be, the lows can be pretty troubling. He fell early last year to Jesse Stafford and was utterly dominated by an excellent Nick Sulzer at NCAA’s. The swings are just a little more vast with Isaac and that’s why I have him 3rd and not 2nd.

Check out the meeting between Bo and Isaac in the Big 10 Finals. (Filthy single leg counter from Isaac)



Ethan Ramos is in limbo a bit in my eyes. He had the monster win over Sulzer that really put him on the map. Having only been a freshman last year you always have to wonder how much he’ll continue to improve. His year was good last year but he took his lumps falling to Marsteller and Gracey at the Scuffle. Neither are bad losses, however.  Ramos has fantastic re-attacks off his opponents shots and can shoot a low double from space and can get to legs from the ties as well.  Additionally he's a prolific finisher of leg attacks.  He's able to transition from head outside to head inside or vice versa.  Whatever reaction his opponent gives him with their hips, he seems to have the plan.  I’m buying UNC stock as well as Ethan Ramos stock.

The past two seasons I thought Cooper Moore would was a very viable All American candidate. Cooper has dropped some odd matches that give me some pause, but I think this is the year he breaks through. His losses weren’t too bad last year falling to Daniel Lewis (who is going to be really good in my opinion) and Tristan Warner has his worst losses of the year. By far his biggest win was his pin against Nick Sulzer. Though it was a non-controlled fall, Cooper is a skilled pinner and if you watch that sequence again you can tell it was a scenario he had practiced before.  Also he had the 2-1 lead at that point.  There was nothing flukish about that win.

The aforementioned Daniel Lewis comes in next. Missouri seems to be a team with weights that still may be in limbo. There may have been a time Lewis was considering 57 but I’d be surprised to see him anywhere but 65. Go back and watch some of his Freestyle this Spring and I think you’ll be impressed. He’s got great defense and can get to legs very consistently. Once in on legs he has an uncanny ability to pull himself into position and finish. On top he’s ferocious with a cradle. Lewis comes in at 6 but he’s got big time upside to climb higher.

Jim Wilson is just the epitome of solid. Never too high, never too low. He isn’t going to wow you necessarily in any facet but he wins a ton of matches along the way. Maybe I’m sleeping on Jim a tad. He beat Cooper Moore last year in the round of 12. I just view Cooper and Lewis as guys with more upside. Jim only fell to good guys and only had a few blemishes against guys who didn’t place.

With Mike Moreno graduated I think we’ll see the best version of Tanner Weatherman at 165. A lot of swings for Tanner during his time at 174. At his best he beat the likes of Zach Epperly and Davonte Mahomes. At his worst he’s fallen to Brad Wukie and Matt Reed. Perhaps the drop in weight will shore up his consistency. I believe that it will.

Here's one of Weatherman's wins over Zach Epperly:



Off the podium there’s a few names I think could make a big impact. I look at two freshman in particular as guys who could break into the top eight. Both New Jersey products I believe Johnny Sebastian and David McFadden both have potential for huge years. The word out of Virginia Tech is McFadden has made huge strides in his few months on campus. Sky appears to be the limit with McFadden. Sebastian was a great talent coming out of high David McFadden.  school and is coming off a solid redshirt campaign. If effective at 165 (he hasn’t wrestled under 174 since his Sophomore year of high school) he could be a difference maker.

I truly don’t know who is going to emerge as the 165 pounder for Lehigh this year. Be it Ryan Preisch or Dylan Milonas expect very good things and All American potential. My gut is it will be Preisch but there’s potential he moves up to 174 as he got very big in the off season. Another wrestle off battle to keep your eye on is Penn State’s 165 situation. Garrett Hammond, Corey Rasheed and maybe others will be in the mix for 165. The upside lies with Rasheed but health has been a question for him.

Tweet any comments/questions @CPyles8 or email christian.pyles@flosports.tv

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