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    Tom Franck •

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    Conference matchups you don't want to miss

    The Pac-10 Championships are already in the books, but a vast majority of the Division I conference tournaments will take place this weekend. It's been a great season thus far … and although anything can happen, some very exciting matchups could occur in the league tournaments. Despite months of intra-league wrestling, several of the more intriguing bouts haven't occurred. This has been the result of various injuries as well as the fact that some teams within the same league don't face each other on their schedules. In other instances, matchups that have taken place were so exciting that there's even greater anticipation over the rematch or even third go-round. Here are some of the more anticipated bouts

    10. Pat Castillo (Northern Illinois) vs. Luke Smith (Central Michigan)
    Conference: MAC
    Weight: 125

    In this battle of ranked opponents, Castillo won a tight 3-2 bout in the dual meet.

    9. Andrew Flanagan (Harvard) vs. Matt Dragon (Penn)
    Conference: EIWA
    Weight: 157

    Flanagan won 11-4 in the dual, but Dragon is still a dangerous, if somewhat inconsistent wrestler who just can't be written off in a rematch.

    8. Matt Hill (Edinboro) vs. Matt Kocher (Pitt)
    Conference: EWL
    Weight: 157

    Hill won 4-3 in the dual, but again Kocher is quite dangerous.

    7. Matt Herrington (Penn) vs. Matt Stolpinski (Navy)
    Conference: EIWA
    Weight: 174

    These two ranked wrestlers haven't met this season. Both have had some big wins as well as some disappointing losses. If this matchup occurs, it will definitely help the winner come seeding time for the NCAA's.

    6. Jerry Rinaldi (Cornell) vs. Josh Glenn (American)
    Conference: EIWA
    Weight: 197

    One of the biggest intra-league matchups that hasn't yet occurred. Rinaldi is ranked third, Glenn fourth. Don't expect any kind of chess match in this one, as Glenn is an incredibly dangerous wrestler, known for putting people on their back.

    5. Kenny Hashimoto (Northern Colorado) vs. C.J. Ettelson (Northern Iowa)
    Conference: Western
    Weight: 141

    Hashimoto is probably the fan favorite for �Darkhorse of the Year.' A talented Judoka, Hashimoto is an exciting wrestler capable of big throws. He's 20-2 on the season, with one of the losses being an 8-6 decision to Minnesota's Manuel Rivera. The talented Ettelson was out for a month with an injury, missing the dual against Northern Colorado and a potential matchup against Hashimoto. He looked strong in his return to action and if this match does take place, it will answer questions about both wrestlers.

    4. Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State) vs. Travis Paulson (Iowa State)
    Conference: Big 12
    Weight: 165

    One of the best and most decorated active college wrestlers, Hendricks has been tested twice against the bull-like Paulson this year. Hendricks came out on top 4-3 and 5-4 in their meetings, but gave up a takedown in each match and earned exactly one minute of riding time to win most recently. Paulson has to think that he's an inch away to finally beating his nemesis and may get another chance on Saturday.

    3. Roger Kish (Minnesota) vs. Mike Pucillo (Ohio State)
    Conference: Big Ten
    Weight: 184

    Both have been impressive this season, but the Big Ten schedule didn't allow for a dual meet this year. Kish is probably favored, but Pucillo is just a freshman and could have a breakout match at any time. This weight is arguably the best in the Big Ten, as it features all of the top four wrestlers in the country.


    2. Max Askren (Missouri) vs. Kurt Backes (Iowa State)
    Conference: Big 12
    Weight: 197

    Backes won on a defensive fall in the dual, thus eliminating Askren's chances at going undefeated as a freshman. Was it a fluke? Stay tuned to find out.

    1. Manuel Rivera (Minnesota) vs. Ryan Lang (Northwestern)
    Conference: Big Ten
    Weight: 141

    Manuel Rivera (Photo/The Guillotine)
    The 141-pound weight class is easily the weight class with the most remaining unanswered questions. It features three undefeated wrestlers: Lang, Rivera and Cal-Davis's Derek Moore. Moore did his part by winning the Pac-10's, but by the time of the Big Show, there can be only one other undefeated wrestler. . Lang missed a good portion of the season, but is still 20-0 and has quality wins over Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State and Alex Tsirtsis of Iowa. Manuel Rivera has been a machine, going 35-0 this season, endearing himself to wrestling fans everywhere by relentlessly facing tough opponents and gutting out numerous tough wins. This is the only potential league matchup where somebody's "0" has to go.
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