2019 NCAA Qualifier Snubs And Flubs
2019 NCAA Qualifier Snubs And Flubs
Where we discuss the most qualified wrestlers not to be invited to wrestle at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
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It is with much rejoicing that the wrestling community received news of the full set of 2019 NCAA qualifiers. Except, of course, for those who had to accept the bitter sting of the NCAA snub.
For some, the Tuesday after conference tournament weekend was a painful reminder of the world's oldest and greatest sports abject brutality. For no matter how fair and meritocratic the precious 33 dance cards per weight class were distributed, there were also going to be folks on the outside looking in.
The NCAA wrestling tournament committee have the unenviable task of determining the fate of so many college careers. Though I'm sure none of the committee members relish the task of ending the season, and in some cases the careers, of student-athletes who have poured their heart and souls into the sport, they must nonetheless carry out their executioner's orders.
The NCAA has done a superb job making the qualifying process as objective as possible, and despite the clickbait headline, very few of these omissions can truly be considered a snub or a flub. And so we commend the NCAA committee for rigorously and nobly performing their duties. Still, below we have compiled an incomplete list of the best wrestlers who you won't see in Pittsburgh.
125 Pounds
Sidney Flores (Air Force)
Trey Chalifoux (Army)
Shakur Laney (Ohio)
Luke Werner (Lock Haven)
Shakur Laney was the #13 seed in 2017 tournament and finished in the round of 16, but was unable to return to form after a redshirt year in 2018. Luke Werner was 31-11 on the season but was upset by Bloomsburg's Willy Girard at the EWL Championship, the second of the season, which likely kept the sophomore Bald Eagle from receiving an all-expenses-paid trip to Pittsburgh.
Watch Laney advance to the blood round of the Southern Scuffle:
133 Pounds
Louie Hayes (Virginia)
Casey Cobb (Navy)
Louie Hayes made it all the way to the blood round at 125 pounds in Cleveland last season but was unable to find similar success this season up at 133. Casey Cobb spent time this year in the top 20 but a seventh-place finish at EIWA's probably doomed his NCAA invitation.
141 Pounds
LJ Bentley (Pitt)
Jack Mutchnik (American)
LJ Bentley won a match in the 2016 NCAA Championship as a freshman but unfortunately was unable to earn a return trip to the big dance, and his career as an NCAA student-athlete has ended.
149 Pounds
Alfred "Baby J" Bannister (Maryland)
Jaden Van Maanen (ND State)
Baby J Bannister won three matches in two trips to the NCAAs in 2017 and 2018, but his stint as a Terrapin varsity wrestler is now over. Jaden Van Maanen has three more shots at nationals before his time as an NDSU Bison is up.
Go to minute 28 to watch Bannister take out Jared Prince of Navy at home in College Park:
157 Pounds
Paul Fox (Stanford)
Kizhan Clarke (American)
Adam Santoro (Cornell)
Jacob Tucker (Michigan State)
Jake Danishek (Indiana)
Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State)
Jake Keating (Virginia)
Alex Mossing (Air Force)
This weight class just wasn't fair, and not just because Jason Nolf was "next topic'ing" everyone all year long. Clearly, there was more talent than there were bids at the NCAAs. All-American Paul Fox had one of the most gut-wrenching seasons in recent memory. After finishing seventh in 2017 and in the round of 12 in 2018, Fox will have to watch the 2019 national championships from the sideline. A third-place finish at Pac-12s was not enough to earn Fox an invite. Hunter Willits' semifinal victory over Fox was likely the killing blow.
Watch Fox beat Rian Burris of the Citadel at the Southern Scuffle:
165 Pounds
Laurence Kosoy (Columbia)
Kenny Moore (Northern Illinois)
As much as Misters Moore and Kosoy would beg to differ, it's tough to find much fault in the decisions made at 165.
174 Pounds
Mitch Bowman (Iowa)
Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma)
The Dealership comes up just shy of an invite after finishing 10th at the Big Tens. Redshirt freshman Anthony Mantanona still has sky-high potential but finishing outside the top six at Big 12s ensured he would not make the NCAAs in his first year of varsity eligibility.
184 Pounds
Jelani Embree (Michigan)
Jordan Atienza (Central Michigan)
Jelani Embree was hampered by injuries all season long and couldn't get back on track in an insanely deep 184-pound division. Jordan Atienza came tantalizingly close to making his second NCAA tournament in his final year of eligibility.
Watch Embree beat Dom Ducharme of Cal State Bakersfield at the CKLV:
197 Pounds
Cale Davidson (Wyoming)
Wyatt Koelling (Missouri)
Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro)
Jackson Striggow (Michigan)
Reynolds, Striggow and Koelling are all juniors, and Davidson has three more years of eligibility left, so luckily for everyone, these four studs will be battling for NCAA invites in the 2019-20 season.
285 Pounds
Will Hilliard (Old Dominion)
Brandon Metz (North Dakota State)
Ben Sullivan (Army)
Sullivan and Metz have three more cracks at the NCAA tourney, while Hilliard has two more years of eligibility left. The NCAA heavyweight division is set up with scads of young talent going forward.
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