Seeds vs. Finish: How Did They Shake Out In 2017?

As we look back to last year, we can see just how the seeds held up at the 2017 NCAA tournament.

Mar 8, 2018 by Ryan Holmes

Seeds vs. Finish: How Did They Shake Out In 2017?

Rankings don't matter. The seed is just a number. All that matters is March. Basically, throw out any cliche you'd like about rankings or seeds heading into next week's NCAA Championships in Cleveland.

As we look back to last year's tournament, we see just how the seeds held up. When it was all said and done, there were 17 wrestlers in the entire field that finished exactly where their seeds had them slotted.

Weight	Name	Seed	Finish
125	Sean Russell	7	7
133	Seth Gross	2	2
141	Dean Heil	1	1
149	Zain Retherford	1	1
	Solomon Chishko	6	6
157	Jason Nolf	1	1
165	Isaac Jordan	4	4
	Daniel Lewis	6	6
174	Kyle Crutchmer	7	7
197	J’den Cox	1	1
	Brett Pfarr	2	2
	Kollin Moore	3	3
	Jared Taught	4	4
	Preston Weigel	6	6
285	Kyle Snyder	1	1
	Connor Medbery	2	2
	Nick Nevills	5	5

Obviously, there are always going to be guys who surpass their seed/ranking and hit their stride in "when the lights are on."

Seed Overachievers

Weight	Name	Seed	Finish
125	Darian Cruz	4	1
	Ethan Lizak	6	2
	Nick Piccininni	8	4
	Jack Mueller	10	6
	Nathan Kraisser	16	8
133	Cory Clark	4	1
	Stevan Micic	5	4
	Eric Montoya	7	6
	Zane Richards	8	7
	Scott Parker	9	8
141	George DiCamillo	6	2
	Kevin Jack	2	3
	Bryce Meredith	10	4
	Tommy Thorn	14	8
149	Lavion Mayes	3	2
	Alex Thomsen	7	5
	Brandon Sorensen	5	3
	Ken Theobold	15	7
157	Joey Lavallee	3	2
	Dylan Palacio	7	6
	Sal Mastriani	14	8
	Paul Fox	Unseeded	7
	Joe Smith	5	4
165	Vincenzo Joseph	3	1
	Chandler Rogers	9	5
	Brandon Womach	13	8
174	Mark Hall	5	1
	Bo Jordan	3	2
	Jake Residori	Unseeded	8
	Myles Amine	9	4
	Zac Brunson	10	6
184	Bo Nickal	2	1
	Myles Martin	6	5
	Drew Foster	12	7
	Nate Jackson	9	8
	TJ Dudley	7	3
197	Aaron Studebaker	7	5
	Ryan Wolfe	8	7
	Kevin Beazley	10	8
285	Tanner Hall	7	3
	Denzel Dejournette	9	8
	Michael Kroells	8	7

Lastly, there are the guys who were on the wrong side of the upsets and finished under where their seeds had them set. The seed vs. the finishing placement for each wrestler here is slight but still interesting to see.

Seed Underacheivers

Weight	Name	Seed	Finish
125	Thomas Gilman	1	3
	Joey Dance	2	5
133	Nathan Tomasello	1	3
	Kaid Brock	3	5
141	Anthony Ashnault	5	6
	Matt Kolodzik	4	7
157	Tyler Berger	4	5
	Michael Kemerer	2	3
165	Isaiah Martinez	1	2
	Chad Walsh	5	6
	Logan Massa	2	3
174	Brian Realbuto	2	5
	Zahid Valencia	1	3
184	Gabe Dean	1	2
	Nolan Boyd	4	5
	Sammy Brooks	3	4
285	Jacob Kasper	4	6
	Ty Walz	3	4