197 NCAA Preview

197 NCAA Preview

Oct 28, 2015 by Christian Pyles
197 NCAA Preview
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Christian Pyles

The landscape changed dramatically at 197 from just a year ago. Kyven Gadson, Scott Schiller graduated and Kyle Snyder is taking an Olympic Redshirt. With their departures it opens the door for a few big names. The question coming into this year is can anyone step consistently into J’Den Cox and Morgan McIntosh’s tier?

J'Den Cox.  Photo by Tony Rotundo1. J’Den Cox - Missouri
2. Morgan McIntosh - Penn State
3. Conner Hartmann - Duke
4. Nathan Burak - Iowa
5. Brett Pfarr - Minnesota
6. Max Huntley - Michigan
7. Abe Ayala - Princeton
8. Zach Nye - Virginia


Round of 12: Aaron Studebaker - Nebraska, Nathan Rotert - South Dakota State, Cody Crawford - Oregon State, Jared Haught - Virginia Tech

Round of 16: Phil Wellington - Ohio, Anthony Abro - Eastern Michigan, Ruben Franklin - CSU Bakersfield, Marcus Harrington - Iowa State

Title Contenders:
J’Den Cox
Morgan McIntosh
Conner Hartmann

I had 8 title contenders for 184, but just three here. This weight lost a lot of talent and frankly there’s not a ton of apparent title contending talent coming into this weight off of redshirt. I really wavered on Hartmann’s inclusion. The conclusion I reached is that including McIntosh (which is unquestionably the right call) means I really should include Hartmann. Not simply because he beat McIntosh, though that’s a component, but also because of McIntosh’s NCAA ‘struggles.’ He’s dropped an uncharacteristic match the last two NCAA’s. In 2014 he lost to Chris Penny and last year he fell to Hartmann. Hartmann needs included. I’ll get into it more below.

Despite the fourth place finish J’Den is a large favorite in my eyes. He sits at 3-1 against Morgan McIntosh for his career. Though he lost the most recent bout, I believe it’s an outlier to an extent. His size, strength, defense and top game have stifled Morgan for three of four matches. I expect an improved J’Den Cox this year recovering from the sting of not reaching his goal last year. He got a bit too comfortable relying on his defense and it caught up with him. Look for him to be more assertive offensively this year firing of attacks at a higher clip.

Here's one of J'Dens wins over Morgan from the Southern Scuffle. 


The clear threat to J’Den lies with Morgan McIntosh. We’ve seen him beat some of the bestMorgan McIntosh wrestling Scott Schiller. Photo by John Sachs. in the country before including J’Den as well as Kyle Snyder. He can drop a match every now and again but has been a reliable point scorer for four years for PSU. I do question how much better he will be for his fifth year at Penn State but even if he’s static he’s still as technical as anyone at this weight. His low level attacks and scrambles are what set him apart. For not being as big as other 197’s he’s a punishing rider who can score bonus points frequently. I believe he and J’Den talent wise are a cut above the competition. If both are at their best I struggle to see J’Den falling.


Maybe one of the most under the radar studs in the country. If you haven’t had a chance to watch Hartmann get going! He’s among the most underrated athletes at this weight. He has consistent and safe leg attacks and can scramble as well as anyone at this weight. His comfort in scrambles is what helped him upset Morgan McIntosh at NCAA’s. He did drop an odd match to Anthony Abro, but returned to form after that. He may be a stretch as a title contender but he’s been so rock steady I felt he deserved that designation.

Nathan Burak has been an under the radar rock for three years for Iowa. By and large he wins the matches he should and has shown incremental improvement along the way. He was very 2 on 1 reliant when he arrived at Iowa. He’s diversified his holds and also has improved his finishing. He never really developed as an elite rider but he’s effective enough and can get away from underneath. I wonder about his upside, yet he’s taken out Kyle Snyder so perhaps he belongs in that tile contending realm as well. I just believe the road to the finals goes through J’Den and McIntosh and it’s been shown that those are bad match ups for Burak. He could be third for sure, but I think fourth is his likely landing spot.

I was irrationally high on Brett Pfarr last year.  I just loved his style.  Though he didn't place, he wasn’t bad by any stretch but talents can struggle to shine at 184 considering its incredible depth. I can’t wait to see what he looks like at 197. He may have some serious upside at this weight. His scrambling and athleticism are excellent and he is offensive minded. If he’s put on the necessary size he could be a big contender and that’s why I have him so high.

Glad to see VA’s own Max Huntley get another year for Michigan. He broke through last year and was able to place. The issue for Max has never been his ability to wrestle. Health has prohibited him from really catching his stride. Here’s hoping for a final year of health for Max. What Max lacked last year were big time wins. He fell to mostly solid dudes but his best wins were likely over Timmy McCall and Zach Nye. Somewhere around this tier this weight separates a little bit. It could be right around wherever Max winds up. That said, he and Nate Burak had some real battles last year with Huntley nearly knocking Burak off in some meetings.

There’s still some speculation whether Ayala will wind up here or if he and Brett Harner will switch weights and he’ll drop down to 184. If I’m Abe and I have my choice I’m staying at 197. He built himself up into a respectably sized 197 pounder. He’s beaten a bevy of ranked guys through the years. Let’s face the facts: This weight is not nearly as deep as 184. It’s not questionable. Ayala has knocked off Studebaker, Riddick and McCall but fell short at NCAA’s. I think he punches through this year. Ayala is a great story: He was more/less a “room guy” at Blair Academy and has been developed into not just a rankable D1 starter but an All American contender.

I’m curious to see what we get out of Zach Nye this year. A year ago I was buying stock in the UVA senior. He was very solid as a Sophomore and had wins over Conner Hartmann and a host of other tough wrestlers. He battled injuries during some of the year which could have hampered him to an extent. Learning to trust his offense and letting it fly more will be essential. His defense is fantastic and his top game is a strength as well.

Looking outside the top eight it was a genuine struggle to come up with an order. I think the upside potential lies most with whoever emerges from Nebraska. Be it Aaron Studebaker, the undersized round of 12er from a year ago; or Derek White the stud Oklahoma blue chipper. I’m not sure who will get the nod but I feel confident in whoever we see doing pretty well. I loved what I saw from Marcus Harrington this Spring in Freestyle for Iowa State. I think he could potentially deliver some points for Iowa State as they look to fill the shoes of Kyven Gadson.

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