It's early December, which means the best college tournament of the year is right around the corner. The 2019 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational starts on Friday with over 100 ranked wrestlers likely to compete.

Watch 2019 Cliff Keen Las Vegas LIVE on Flo

December 6-7 | 12:00 PM Eastern

Remember, CKLV is a single entry event, so for all intents and purposes each team will enter their "starters," though of course nearly every squad is battling injuries or starters being out of their lineup for one reason or another. Brackets will eventually be in FloArena, but for now we only have the registered athletes.

Let's take a look at the weights and predict how the top four will shake out. Projected seeds can be found here. Nomad gets the lowerweights (124-141) David Bray will be handling the middleweights (149-165) and Andrew Spey is tackling the upperweights (174-285). 

125lbs: 7 Ranked

#2 Jack Mueller (Virginia), SR: 1-0

#7 Alex Mackall (Iowa State), JR: 4-1

#10 Devin Schroder (Purdue), JR: 12-1

#14 Jakob Camacho (NC State), FR: 7-1

#15 Jacob Schwarm (Northern Iowa), SR: 2-2

#18 Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado), FR: 7-2

#19 Cole Verner (Wyoming), SR: 2-3

Joey Prata (Virginia Tech), JR: 6-2

Malik Heinselman (Ohio State), SO: 6-4

Patrick McKee (Minnesota), FR: 7-2

Brandon Courtney (Arizona State), SO: 8-1

Alex Thomsen (Nebraska): 5-5

Jack Medley (Michigan), JR: 6-5

Dominic Lajoie (Cornell), SO: 8-4

Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern), FR: 2-1

Danny Vega (South Dakota State), JR: 8-3

Earl Blake (Kent State), FR: 6-7

Commentary: For the past several years, 125 at CKLV has been a mixed bag of participants, which tends to create some interesting results. This year, that comes in the form of Jack Mueller being a big favorite. The returning NCAA finalist is just 1-0 with a pin on the year and hasn’t wrestled many of the guys in this bracket, but I’m expecting him to pick up bonus in at least two or three matches and no one in this field to be within four points of him at any time. Beyond him though, it gets tricky.

David Bray’s seed projections pretty well match our rankings, with Mackall coming in at the 2 and Devin Schroder the 3. They’ve never met before and each has just one loss on the year. To get to Schroder, the Cyclone will have go through Cole Verner, the Wyoming senior who currently has a losing record. That seed might also get screwed up with Josh Portillo in the bracket, who beat Verner at the Cowboy Invite.

In the other quarter, Schroder and Northern Colorado redshirt freshman Jace Koelzer are on pace to meet. Schroder is the only returning placer from last year at the weight and has no losses to anyone in the field. Koelzer does have a loss to Alex Thomsen from last year, so that could prevent this quarter if they are matched up early.

Two of the fascinating wild cards to me are Jakob Camacho and Jacob Schwarm. Camacho took over the starting spot for the Wolfpack this year and during his redshirt year had wins over Mackall, Fabian Gutierrez, and Joey Prata. Then there's Schwarm, who got teched by Mackall and then gave up three takedowns to Thomsen, only to pin him in the second.

For my picks, I harken back to the very first CKLV I attended in 2016, when Trey Andrews vs Jose Rodriguez was a semifinal at 125. I think we see similarly goofy results, not necessarily flukey because there is talent at this weight, but also a great deal of parity.

My mind is leaning toward Schroder making the finals, taking a tight semi over Mackall. Then I think Joey Prata screws up the rankings, which leaves the Camacho/Schwarm/Koelzer/Verner grouping fighting for the last placing spots with the likes of Thomsen, Heinselman, McKee, Jack Medley, and Brandon Courtney.

Nomad’s Prediction: 1) Mueller, UVA  2) Schroder, Purdue  3) Mackall, ISU  4) Prata, VT

133lbs: 11 Ranked

#6 Chas Tucker (Cornell), SR: 7-0

#7 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), JR: 6-1

#8 Cam Sykora (North Dakota State), SR: 3-1

#10 Taylor Lamont (Utah Valley), SO: 1-1

#12 Josh Kramer (Arizona State), SR: 7-2

#13 Anthony Madrigal (Oklahoma), SO: 7-3

#16 Chance Rich (CSU Bakersfield), FR: 3-2

#18 Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech), FR: 5-3

#19 Quinn Kinner (Ohio State), FR: 5-4

#20 Tim Rooney (Kent State), SR: 10-4

#23 Tye Varndell (Edinboro), FR: 7-3

#25 Louie Hayes (Virginia), JR: 6-1

Todd Small (Iowa State), JR: 3-2

Zack Trampe (Binghamton), SO: 6-0

Mosha Schwartz (Northern Colorado), FR: 6-0

Jack Skudlarczyk (Northern Iowa), SO: 4-2

Commentary: A great weight for someone to break through and grab the nation's attention. Such is life right now when you don't have DeSanto, Gross, or RBY in a tournament. Montorie Bridges was a 2018 AA who made the Round of 12 here in 2017, losing to Luke Pletcher and Austin DeSanto, and then was sixth a year ago. He had a tiebreaker win over Tucker in a dual last year so should probably be the one seed.

Tucker is going to control matches and most will be close but should finish Top-3. Sykora is a hammer on top with 40 career techs! While I still think it's Montorie and Tucker a cut above, Sykora's top game could put him in the finals and will either way be a huge help to NDSU's team points.

Much like 125, this weight is very in flux and could go down several different avenues. You have Kramer, who jumped into the rankings thanks to his Journeymen performance, and just had a one point match with Roman Bravo-Young. Then there is Sooner sophomore Madrigal, who appears on an upward trajectory after having a losing record and failing to qualify for NCAAs last year.

Chance Rich got into the rankings with his win over Sammy Alvarez (and has also beaten Brent Jones), but has losses to Derek Spann and Sykora. Rich was in the Redshirt Report and is one of the guys who can make a name for himself this weekend if he picks off a few guys, even ones ranked lower than him.

You saw I picked Prata to do well above and I'm feeling similarly good about Collin Gerardi. I believe he competes hard and already has a 7-1 win over Kinner, who I'm betting high on this weekend. I see Gerardi making a good run through the backside and solidifies his ranking.

I know Kinner's coming off two straight losses (and didn't wrestle against Cornell), including one to Gerardi mentioned above. But here's why I think Kinner does well. Kinner's weight should not be as much of an issue in a tournament setting, and I like betting on talent when there's a large field. The redshirt freshman was 15th on 2018 Big Board and two of his losses are to #4 Micky Phillippi. Lastly, his best position is top, which I trust heavily in at high level events like CKLV.

We haven't even gotten to Taylor LaMont, back off Olympic Redshirt and wrestling in his second CKLV. Back in 2017, he made the finals, knocking off Ethan Lizak, Connor Schram, and Sean Russell in order to take the title.

LaMont has just two matches so far, and even having seen Bridges loss to Theorius Robison, I'm taking Bridges over LaMont in the finals, with Tucker and Sykora right behind them. Kinner and Gerardi should be in the mix right below those four.

Nomad's Prediction: 1) Bridges, Wyoming  2) LaMont, UVU  3) Tucker, Cornell  4) Sykora, NDSU

141lbs: 8 Ranked

#1 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), SR: 9-0

#2 Dom Demas (Oklahoma), SO: 9-1

#4 Mitch McKee (Minnesota), SR: 11-0

#6 Chad Red (Nebraska), JR: 5-1

#7 Tariq Wilson (NC State), JR: 9-0

#13 Ian Parker (Iowa State), JR: 2-0

#19 Mitch Moore (Virginia Tech), SO: 5-3

#23 Cole Mattin (Michigan), FR: 7-3

Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa), FR: 3-1

Clay Carlson (South Dakota State), FR: 9-2

Noah Baughman (Cornell), SR: 9-2

Parker Filius (Purdue), SO: 8-1

Durbin Lloren (Fresno State), JR: 7-1

Lot on the line this weekend in Vegas, but if you’re a betting man, do like the Entourage boys did and put $5 on red (it’s gonna be a good weekend). Five of the top six guys in this field have a shade of red as the dominant color of their school’s logo.

Your top seed will be Luke Pletcher, who has five ranked wins thus far in his eight matches. He’s also got six bonus point wins already, putting him on a clip to shoot by his best career bonus rate. It seems like he’s got more pop to him this year, like the extra eight pounds all went to more energy on his feet. But he does have that 17-8 loss to Tariq Wilson from two years ago at NCAAs.

Then there’s Dom Demas, who might be one of the few guys who has thighs similar size to Pletcher. The inside trip maestro exploded to a fourth place finish in Pittsburgh last March and began the year ranked #1 in the country. His frenetic energy is hard to match, and the ability to wrestle with such confidence from a duck into a trip or headlock is devastating (see his Journeymen match with Chad Red). But he did fall to Pletcher in the MSU Open finals.

Then there’s Mitch McKee, for years thought of as more of a “freestyle guy,” but breaking through and finally placing as a junior. Now in this weight he looks like he could seriously contend for a national title, and it appears his chest lock is even more effective up at 141lbs. He fell to Demas in the U23 finals a year ago, and lost to Pletcher in overtime at Big Tens.

Chad Red is one of the best scramblers in the country and his mixer is vicious. He’s showed some excellent top work in good wins over JoJo Aragona, Chase Zollmann, and Michael Blockhus so far. We're looking at excellent quarters and semis matchups with Tariq Wilson followed by Pletcher. The Tariq match is one we've never seen, but Pletcher and Red were very familiar with each other in high school.

Tariq is the absolute wild card of the weight, coming up from 133 and undefeated so far with two-thirds of his victories coming by bonus. Feel free to call me a hater, but I'm on wait and see with Wilson for now, though we'll have plenty of content coming on exactly why he is the guy you'll need to set your FloArena alerts for at this weight.

Ian Parker has a win over Demas from last year and Mitch Moore is the one guy who could truly make this bracket fall apart. Cole Mattin seems to have taken control of the 141 spot for Michigan after some early roster battles for the Wolverines.

Blockhus seems the most likely of non-ranked guys and freshmen to make a splash, but this weight is too top heavy to see someone like that grabbing the spotlight without a major upset on his part.

I'm going to dive a little deeper into this weight in a separate article, but the picks boil down to: In my opinion, it's Pletcher's year. McKee seems to have finally hit his folkstyle stride and combined his freestyle identity in his final year of Gopher eligibility. Demas pinned Red in under a minute and although I have otherwise been very impressed with CJ this year, the image of the Sooner's pinfall is burned in my memory.

Nomad's Prediction: 1) Pletcher, tOSU  2) McKee, Minnesota  3) Demas, Oklahoma  4) Red, Nebraska

149lbs: 13 Ranked

#4 Collin Purinton (Nebraska), SR

#5 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa), SR

#6 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State), JR

#7 Griffin Parriott (Purdue), JR

#8 Brock Zacherl (Clarion), SR

#10 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), FR

#12 Brayton Lee (Minnesota), FR

#14 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern), JR

#16 Henry Pohlmeyer (South Dakota State), SR

#17 Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield), SR

#19 Brent Moore (Virginia Tech), JR

#21 Josh Maruca (Arizona State), SR

#22 Greg Gaxiola (Fresno State), JR

Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado), FR

Commentary: Both at CKLV and at NCAAs this year, 149 could go so many different ways. The upperclassmen at this weight haven't always been consistent, and while the youngsters have demonstrated impressive talent, they haven't proven themselves yet.

Nebraska Senior Collin Purinton could enter the CKLV as the most surprising #1 seed of the entire tournament. Purinton, who was 8-6 last year, is off to a 6-0 start this season and has earned the #4 ranking after his upset win over Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen. He has struggled with consistency throughout his career, so it's hard to imagine him coming out on top of this field. But his win over Thomsen was also unexpected, and he'll try to keep his undefeated streak going.

Another senior, the aforementioned Thomsen, is working to regain his freshman form when he was an All-American in 2017. He is one of two All-Americans in this field and has some of the most impressive results of this group. Still, Thomsen has vulnerabilities as he demonstrated in his loss to Purinton earlier this season.

The other All-American in this field is Jarrett Degen of Iowa State who finished seventh at NCAAs last season. Degen just might be the tallest 149-pounder in the country, and his length and unconventional approach present a lot of problems for his opponents. Degen has yet to face many of the top competitors in this field other than Thomsen who has had his number, but his skill set has proven effective against top competition.

Griffin Parriott is another highly ranked wrestler without a lot of results against guys in this bracket. He has come down to 149 for his junior year after spending his previous seasons at 157. The one significant test he has had at 149 came against Clarion's Brock Zacherl. Parriott passed that test last week beating Zacherl 4-2. That puts him in the title conversation at this weight.

Brock Zacherl, who was ranked fifth in the country before his loss to Parriott, is another serious contender here. Zacherl is coming off a season-ending injury a year ago but he has had consistent results throughout his career having won 86.75 percent of his matches with a 41.72-percent bonus rate. Clarion fans have been waiting for Zacherl to put it all together to earn All-American honors. If this is going to be the year for Zacherl, the CKLV is a great place for him to show it.

Ohio State freshman Sammy Sasso started his career on fire racking up bonus-point wins is his first five matches at the Michigan State Open. Since then, Sasso has cooled a bit, even dropping a match to Virginia Tech's #19 Brent Moore who is also in this field. When Sasso is on, he looks like an NCAA title contender; other times, like his match this weekend against Hunter Richard of Cornell, he seems to struggle with gas tank issues. Still, Sasso is a contender to win this bracket.

This bracket is so loaded that even guys outside the top 10 like Minnesota's Brayton Lee and Northwestern's Yahya Thomas pose real threats to win the weight. One unranked wrestler who just might win it all is Northern Colorado's Andrew Alirez. The major question about Alirez is his health as he didn't travel with the team in their dual against Fresno State over the weekend. While Alirez is unproven at the NCAA level, having yet to face a ranked opponent, he has gotten it done on the freestyle scene against senior-level talent like two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil.

149 is one of the toughest weights to predict because there are so many dangerous contenders, but I'll give it a shot. I'm leaving Alirez out of this prediction because I don't believe he'll compete due to injury.

David Bray's Prediction: 1) Sasso, tOSU 2) Zacherl, Clarion 3) Thomsen, UNI 4) Degen, Iowa State

157lbs: 8 Ranked

#1 Hayden Hidlay (NC State), JR

#2 David Carr (Iowa State), FR

#4 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), JR

#7 Kendall Coleman (Purdue), FR

#11 Will Lewan (Michigan), FR

#17 BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech), JR

#19 Justin Thomas (Oklahoma), JR

#22 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State), FR

Peyton Robb (Nebraska), FR

Colton Yapoujian (Cornell), FR

Carson Brolsma (Minnesota), SR

Commentary: This might be the most intriguing weight of the entire tournament. The four guys at the top of this bracket are high-powered 157-pounders who could all make a serious run in March, but this weight also has unranked guys who just might make a move this weekend.

At the top, #1-ranked Hayden Hidlay of NC State will be the favorite in this bracket. The 2018 NCAA finalist has a win over Ryan Deakin, the fourth-ranked wrestler in the country and one of the top-ranked wrestlers in this weight. Hidlay is the man this year, both at the CKLV, and in the entire NCAA field.

Ryan Deakin is ranked fourth in the country, but he just might earn the #2 seed here because of his long list of accomplishments against NCAA opponents. Deakin was an All-American last season finishing sixth. If our seed projections hold, he could see Iowa State freshman David Carr in one of the most exciting semifinal matches of the whole event.

David Carr is ranked second in the country and will probably have the #2 or #3 seed opposite Deakin. His move up the rankings came after week 4 of the season when he knocked off Iowa's Kaleb Young. A potential Carr vs Deakin semifinal is an exciting prospect. Despite Carr's relative inexperience, he's my pick in that match. He has the win over Young who has been a thorn in Deakin's side. He also owns a Junior World gold medal compared to Deakin's Junior World silver. Of course, Deakin may make me look foolish here, but I'm going with Carr.

Seventh-ranked Kendall Coleman of Purdue rounds out the top four in this bracket. Coleman is 12-0 at the start of his redshirt freshman season with wins over ranked foes like Will Lewan and Anthony Artalona. His offense has looked incredibly potent this year, but he has yet to face anyone as accomplished as Hayden Hidlay, his possible semifinals opponent. Hidlay is so tough to score on, and I think he gets the better of this match.

One unranked wrestler to keep an eye on is Nebraska's Peyton Robb. Husker fans have had his name circled since he signed with Nebraska, and he's already making an impact in his freshman season. He's 6-0 with two falls, a tech, two majors, and an injury default. Robb has yet to hit a ranked opponent, so he hasn't had an opportunity to climb the rankings himself, but that kind of high-powered offense is must-watch stuff this weekend.

Another freshman to watch is Cornell's Colton Yapoujian who has started the year 11-1, his one loss coming at the hands of #1 Hayden Hidlay. Yapoujian is a skilled top wrestler who can turn opponents or ride for close wins when necessary. I'm curious to see how his top game translates in a field as stacked as this.

OK, I'm delaying my predictions by thinking of all the heat at this weight, but it's time to pick.

David Bray's Prediction: 1) Hidlay, NC State 2) Carr, Iowa State 3) Deakin, Northwestern 4) Coleman, Purdue

165lbs: 10 Ranked

#4 Isaiah White (Nebraska), SR

#5 Josh Shields (Arizona State), SR

#6 David McFadden (Virginia Tech), SR

#8 Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State), SR

#12 Ethan Smith (Ohio State), SO

#14 Phillip Conigliaro (Harvard), SO

#16 Tommy Bullard (NC State), JR

#22 Emil Soehnlen (Purdue), FR

#23 Ricky Stamm (Hofstra), JR

Austin Matthews (Northern Colorado), SR

Jake Allar (Minnesota), SR

Cam Coy (Virginia), SO

Dewey Krueger (Wyoming), SR

Commentary: 165 is stocked with talent like most weights in this tournament. Isaiah White is the deserving 1 seed, but he'll have his hands full with Shields, McFadden, and the field.

Nebraska's Isaiah White has certainly earned the #1 seed here. He finished fifth at last year's NCAA tournament and already has a win this year over fifth-ranked Josh Shields. He's unbeaten on the year, and his solid position will make him tough to beat this weekend.

Josh Shields of Arizona State is likely to get the #2 seed. He is a two-time All-American whose only losses this year have come against White and Penn State's #1 Vincenzo Joseph. Shields, like White, wins a lot of close matches. His potential semifinal against Virginia Tech's David McFadden is one of the most compelling matches at this weight.

Virginia Tech's #6 David McFadden will probably enter this tournament as the #3 seed. His loss to Ohio State's Ethan Smith put a damper on what some considered to be a potential title season. Despite that loss, McFadden is one of the most accomplished wrestlers at 165 this season and poses a serious threat to win this weight class.

Andrew Fogarty of NDSU is expected to be the #4 seed. His top wrestling prowess keeps him in every match and allows him to score bonus points in matches where he gets his turns going. His bonus rate so far this season is an impressive 78 percent proving just how dangerous he is.

Ohio State's Ethan Smith may earn the #5 seed which would set up a potential Fogarty vs Smith quarterfinal. Smith has earned the #12 ranking due in large part to his upset win over McFadden, but he also has three losses on the year. While he's proven he can hang with about anyone, I'm nervous about picking him over anyone as dangerous on top as Fogarty.

Before I make my picks, let me say, we'll have a dark horse article later this week that will offer a deeper dive into some of the more under-the-radar guys at these weights. This could be useful for you fantasy wrestling junkies or you fans of plain ol' good wrestling. OK, now on to the picks.

David Bray's Prediction: 1) McFadden, Virginia Tech 2) White, Nebraska 3) Shields, ASU 4) Fogarty, NDSU

174lbs: 13 Ranked

#4 Bryce Steiert (UNI) SR

#5 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) SO

#7 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) SR

#8 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) SR

#9 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) SR

#10 Hayden Hastings (Wyoming) SO

#11 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) SO

#12 Brandon Womack (Cornell) SR

#14 Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma) SO

#21 Daniel Bullard (NC State) JR

#22 Jackson Hemauer (Fresno State) SO

#23 Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) SO

#25 Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley) SR

Sage Heller (Hofstra) SR

Lorenzo De La Riva (ND State) SR

Tyler Morland (Northwestern) SO

Despite not having the top three NCAA title contenders at 174, this field at CKLV has a good chance to feature half of the 2020 All-Americans. The top two contenders for the Vegas crown are Bryce Steiert and Mickey Labriola. Both climbed podium steps last March. Steiert was eighth at 165, while Labriola was sixth at 174. Steiert has since bumped up, but proved he could compete at the same level up a weight class early this season. It was less than two weeks ago that the Panthers of Northern Iowa welcomed the Huskers to Ceder Falls and Labriola and Steiert faced off in West Gym.

Steiert beat Labriola by a razor-thin 2-1 margin. You can watch the match below, which may also be a preview to the finals in Las Vegas.

Dylan Lydy and Anthony Valencia both had solid outings in New York's Capital Region. Valencia participated in the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and Northeast Duals, while Lydy and his fellow Boilermakers were only involved in the Duals. Lydy edged Valencia when the Boilermakers and Sun Devils met in the dual meet portion of the Journeymen event, which you can watch here. 

Devin Skatzka is the third returning All-American in the field (the fourth is Brandon Womack), and would have a higher ranking if he hadn't gotten upset by Dean Sherry of Rider in a dual meet earlier this season. The aforementioned Womack was recently bested (as in three days ago) by Kaleb Romero, also in a dual meet. Check out this profile we ran on Ohio State's Romero.

Redshirt sophomore Anthony Mantanona has been quietly working his way up the rankings. He already has wins over three national qualifiers this season and has the big move capabilities to keep any opponent on their toes all match long. 

Some unranked landmines to keep an eye on include North Dakota State's funky two-time national qualifier Lorenzo De La Riva and Northwestern's Tyler Moreland.

Spey's Spredictions: 1) Bryce Steiert, UNI; 2) Mikey Labriola, Nebraska; 3) Devin Skatzka, Minnesota; 4) Dylan Lydy, Purdue

184lbs: 12 Ranked

#1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) SR

#2 Trent Hidlay (NC State) FR

#3 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) SO

#4 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) SO

#5 Taylor Lujan (UNI) SR

#7 Samuel Colbray (Iowa State) JR

#9 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) JR

#10 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) SO

#17 Jelani Embree (Michigan) SO

#23 Max Lyon (Purdue) JR

#24 Alan Clothier (N. Colorado) JR

#25 Tate Samuelson (Wyoming) SO

Cody Mulligan (Edinboro) FR

Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) FR

Owen Webster (Minnesota) SR

Zach Carlson (SD State) SR

An absolutely stupid weight class. Ridiculous. I would assume this is a joke if I didn't know better. 

Of the current top 10, only Nelson Brands (who did not start for Iowa in their last dual) and Shakur Rasheed (who has not wrestled yet this season for Penn State) are missing. If this bracket doesn't produce at least four All-Americans in Minneapolis, I will eat an entire Casey's Pizza. That is a promise.

The leading contender for a title in Vegas is also the guy most people would pick to finish first in the NCAAs, and that's 2018 Final X competitor Zahid Valencia. But don't expect a cakewalk for the pound-for-pound #1, as it was less than a month ago that Taylor Venz took Zahid to the wire at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. Zahid held onto victory by his literal fingertips. 

Watch the whole match here:

The fact that Venz, a former All-American, is ranked ninth, is evidence for how deep this weight class is. 

Venz very clearly had Zahid scouted (you did watch the match by now, yes?), so you can assume that everyone else in the field has copied and practiced the playbook that Venz laid out for them in Troy, NY. The question now is how will Zahid respond?

All-American Ben Darmstadt has returned to the mat after missing last season due to injury. He's also down a weight class and has already lost twice to two wrestlers who will be in the bracket with him, Lou DePrez and Trent Hidlay. Darmstadt, and his praying mantis-like body and enveloping four-limbed attack, will be no doubt looking for revenge.

Trying to spoil everyone's fun is Taylor Lujan, a three-time qualifier and two-time bloodrounder. Lujan is a proverbial man on a mission, and looks every bit the title contender after his dismantling of Venz earlier this year. Lujan brings the funk as much as anyone, though he combines his vast arsenal with acute positional awareness that makes him one of the most dangerous men in wrestling. 

For landmines, I like Jelani Embree, who has had bad luck with injuries in his young career but has all the tools to put himself in the upper echelon of the division. Also look out for Owen Webster, who has been hampered by injuries as well, but recently beat highly touted Oklahoma State redshirt freshman Anthony Montalvo in a dual meet.  

Spey's Spredictions: 1) Zahid Valencia, Arizona State; 2) Taylor Lujan, UNI; 3) Taylor Venz, Nebraska; 4) Trent Hidlay, NC State

197lbs: 10 Ranked

#1 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) SR

#6 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) JR

#9 Jay Aiello (Virginia) JR

#10 Thomas Lane (Cal Poly) SR

#11 Tanner Sloan (SD State) FR

#15 Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley) SR

#16 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) SO

#19 Christian Brunner (Purdue) SR

#20 Kordell Norfleet (Arizona State) JR

#25 Lucas Davison (Northwestern) FR

Greg Bulsak  (Clarion) JR

Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro) SR

Dom Ducharme (CSU-Bakersfield) JR

Colin McCracken (Kent State) SO

Jackson Striggow (Michigan) SR

Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado) SR

Joel Shapiro (Iowa State) FR

Kollin Moore has never finished worse than fourth at an NCAA Championship and has yet to lose more than four matches in a single collegiate season. He has been the steadiest of all the Eddies at 197 for the Buckeyes. All of Moore's losses last season were to Hodge Trophy winner Bo Nickal, who has since graduated (and fights Gordon Ryan this weekend).

Watch the top 197-pound title contender demolish #7 Nathan Traxler in the first-ever dual meet in the Buckeye's new facility, the Covelli Center:

Moore just may obliterate everyone in the convention center this weekend, which would give him his third straight CKLV championship. However, there will still be a bevy of obstacles, including #16 Jake Woodley, who already took Moore to sudden victory this season at the Michigan State Open.

Another wrestler who took Moore to overtime (albeit last season) is Eric Schultz, who will also be in the bracket this weekend looking for revenge. So will Thomas Lane, who lost to Moore 13-6 at the CKLV last season, but will be eager to prove that he can knock off the best of the weight class, like he did at the 2019 NCAAs when he upset Jacob Warner in the second round. 

Another veteran of 2018's CKLV is Jay Aiello, who burst onto the scene in Vegas with wins over Christian Brunner, Tom Sleigh, and Nathan Traxler to establish himself as an upperweight force to be reckoned with. 

Then there's Tanner Sloan, who has quite the impressive hit list for a redshirt freshman, but whose hype train needs a boost after getting derailed by Tanner Orndorff in a dual meet two weeks ago. Orndorff is also expected to participate in this early season wrestling bonanza. 

It's still unknown whether we will see Jacob Holschlag of Northern Iowa compete this weekend. Holschalg is a title contender whose worst enemy is the litany of injuries he's suffered throughout his snakebitten college career. 

We're spoiled for choice when it comes to landmines. Anyone of the unranked wrestlers listed above as the potential to cause havoc in this bracket. Pity the wretched rankers who will have to sort out the mess inevitably made by this tournament. 

Spey's Spredictions: 1) Kollin Moore, Ohio State; 2) Eric Schultz, Nebraska; 3) Jake Woodley, Oklahoma; 4) Jay Aiello, Virginia

285lbs: 12 Ranked

#4 Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley) SO

#5 Tanner Hall (Arizona State) SR

#6 Mason Parris (Michigan) SO

#8 Chase Singletary (Ohio State) SO

#12 Christian Lance (Nebraska) SR

#13 Brian Andrews (Wyoming) JR

#14 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) JR

#17 Carter Isley (UNI) JR

#18 Brandon Metz (ND State) SO

#19 John Borst (Virginia Tech) SO

#20 Jon Spaulding (Edinboro) JR

#25 Yaraslau Slavilouski (Harvard) FR

Brendan Furman (Cornell) SO

Zachary Knighton-Ward (Hofstra) SO

Joe Doyle (Binghamton) SO

Bobby Steveson (Minnesota) SR

Thomas Penola (Purdue) FR

Utah Valley's Tate Orndorff has been on quite a tear. He made the U23 World Team, competing overseas this summer placing 10th in the Greco-Roman World Championships. A scant few weeks later he beat two All-Americans in one day when he took out Lehigh's Jordan Wood and Tanner Hall, the latter of whom will be in Vegas with his eyes on a rematch. Orndorff's match with Wood can be found below. 

Besides Hall, bent on revenge, Orndorff will have to contend with Mason Parris, who has been on a heater since the season began. Parris did not have the best postseason last spring as a true freshman, losing to Conan Jennings and David Jensen at the Big Ten Championship, and then to Matt Stencel and Sam Stoll at the NCAA Championship (hence the current ranking). However, Parris has already avenged his loss to Stence three times this year. Yes, the loss was thrice revenged in less than a month! 

Parris continues to refine his heavyweight game, getting savvier by the match. His fireman's carry is already one of the best in college and getting deadlier by the day. He may not arrive in Sin City with the highest ranking, but he's a good bet to head back to Michigan as a CKLV champ. 

Parris' collegiate rival to the south, Chase Singletary, has also been improving by leaps and bounds with each passing semester. Having Olympic bronze-medalist Tervel Dlagnev as a coach probably doesn't hurt. 

There are many landmines capable of tripping up the favored big men. I like both Harvard's Slavilouski and Hofstra's Knighton-Ward to do some damage and surprise some folks with their performances. 

Spey's Spredictions: 1) Mason Parris, Michigan; 2) Tate Orndorff, Utah Valley; 3) Tanner Hall, Arizona State; 4) Chase Singletary, Ohio State