The first day of the 2018 Cadet world championships starts early tomorrow morning in Zagreb, Croatia. There will be five weights competing, and the competition will feature only championship rounds up to and including the semifinals, with repechage and medal matches happening the next day.

A reminder, the scoring system has changed this year. Golds are now worth 25 team points, silvers are 20 points, the bronzes are 15 each and fifth place is 10 each. Seventh through tenth go eight, six, four, and two points respectively.

Below are the brackets and draw analysis for the five Cadets going tomorrow. America will likely need to put at least four in medal matches to have a shot at the first team title since Cadet worlds was reinstated in 2011.

Here are the draws for Figueroa, Howard and Manville pic.twitter.com/mGLKWE19q2

— The Wrestling Nomad (@wrestlingnomad) July 1, 2018

48kg: Richard Figueroa II

The California state champion is at the very top of this 20-man bracket. Wrestling in his first world championships, the young man from Selma HS in California will have a very winnable match against Xialong Ye (CHN), who went 0-1 at the Asian championships.

Waiting in the quarters is a big test, Valerii Androsov (RUS). From the same region as former world champ Viktor Lebedev, Androsov is competing in his first international tournament after going 0-1 last year at Russian Nationals. What makes the third year Cadet so scary is his ability to put up points on top. While not adept at a traditional gut wrench, he’s like a folkstyler who wants to tie your wrists up. If he can do that, he can end matches quickly.

So, how does Androsov get on top? Primarily with an underhook throwby to catch the trail leg. He also has an effective go-behind when opponents shoot with their head down. There seems to be enough evidence of guys getting to his legs that I feel confident Figueroa can get a takedown, especially with his ankle pick. Clearing underhooks will be key.

If Figueroa makes it through that match, he has a very good shot to make the finals, as none of the other opponents on the top half seem as good as the Russian, on paper.

55kg: Robert Howard

Making his second appearance at the world championships, Howard ran the gauntlet in Akron, winning what was either the toughest or second toughest weight, depending upon how you viewed 80kg. He’ll start off with Aliaksei Kukharchyk (BLR), who there is no information on. Get through there, and he’ll have a match he should take against either Algeria or Italy.

Then in the quarters comes Sajjad Ali Reza Goudarzi (IRI), a bronze medalist at the Asian championships. Goudarzi picked up a couple techs, as well as a 4-1 win over Uzbekistan before falling to the eventual champion from Japan. It is difficult to tell who Howard could see in the semis, and there is limited film on the group in his side of the bracket.

65kg: Carson Manville

Seems like a great draw on paper, at least to start. First, he’ll roll through Lithuania on his way to Masaki Sato (JPN). The Asian bronze medalist was fifth in the world last year at 69kg, so he’ll be big for the weight. Sato has a very quick single leg and will try to finish the match with a lace.

If Manville can stymie Sato, he’ll get Asian champ Mohammad Baghi Karimiseifabad in the quarters. Karimiseifabad was excellent at his continental, outscoring opponents 38-2. 

The scary part about a potential loss to Sato or Karimiseifabad is that there is a very tough Azeri waiting in the semis. That means Turan Bayramov (AZE), the European champ and last year’s world silver at 58kg, could keep Manville out of the repechage.

Here are the brackets for Assad and Kerkvliet. pic.twitter.com/k2XBlXxDYI

— The Wrestling Nomad (@wrestlingnomad) July 1, 2018

80kg: Abe Assad

Pretty brutal draw for Assad. However, it should be noted that the previous two guys to win both styles in Akron as Assad did both medaled: Jacob Warner was bronze in 2016 and Will Lewan won gold last year. There is no info on Assad’s first opponent, Medet Serhat Biliciturk.

In the second round, he’d see Asian champ Mohammadreza Ezatollah Ghiyasi (IRI). The Iranian has an excellent gut wrench, and used it to great effect at his continental. He was trailing in his last three matches there, but came back each time. Ghiyasi primarily attacks the left leg, so if Assad can shut that down he'll have a much better chance of moving on.

However, it doesn't necessarily get any easier, as he would get Denys Sahaliuk (UKR), a European bronze medalist after that. Then in the semis would be the other Euro bronze in Giorgi Nebunishvili (GEO). So Assad is going to have his work cut out for him just to make the finals, whereas the Russian got a cake draw on the top half.

110kg: Daniel Gregory Kerkvliet

It's nice to be the defending world champ, it's even better to get an awesome draw as the reigning gold medalist. He'll roll through the Czech Republic and either Romania or Ukraine to start his tournament off. Then will likely come Asian silver Kumar Anirudh (IND) in the quarters.

It starts getting fun in the semis against Sergei Kozyrev (RUS). The Russian dominated his way through Euros, bullying inferior athletes. But not only is Kervkliet a much better athlete than anyone Kozyrev saw in Macedonia, the Oklahoma State commit is a far better wrestler. The Minnesota native should be able to get to the Russian's legs, and work his lace. Kozyrev's only real leg attacks come off a tap and go duck, that he can turn into a hi-c, firemans, or sometimes knee pull. But it's slow and predictable, something Kerkvliet shouldn't have any issues with.

The real question comes in the finals against Amir Hossein Abbas Zare (IRI). There isn't any video from the Asian championships, but we do know he scored a pin and two techs by 16-6 and 10-0 scores. Based on what we've seen from Kerkvliet this spring, it's hard to imagine anyone knocking him off.