Prediction: No. 1 Matt McDonough (Iowa) over No. 2 Zach Sanders (Minnesota)
133: One of the dominant wrestlers in the game today, defending champion Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) gave brief hope to his opposition losing in mid-January to Tony Ramos (Iowa) and with a close win at the NWCA All-Star Classic against B.J. Futrell (Illinois). However, the rest of his results -- including a 7-3 victory over Stieber -- are a reflection of his pre-eminent place in college wrestling today. As for a finals opponent, it probably will be another superstar in redshirt freshman Logan Stieber (Ohio State), who is 2-0 against Tony Ramos (Iowa) and dominated Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) in November ... those being his likely semifinal opposition.
Prediction: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) over No. 2 Logan Stieber (Ohio State)
141: Even with a national title, four-time Big Ten champion Kellen Russell (Michigan) has had a mixed bag in his journeys to nationals. As a true freshman, he failed to earn All-American honors; as a true sophomore, he finished seventh; then last year, as a redshirt junior, he won the last three matches by the skin of his teeth. During the redshirt senior season, Russell has shown greater proclivity to open up his matches and score more points. Other than a single isolated loss, 6-5 to possible semifinal opponent Hunter Stieber (Ohio State), so far it's been a season to remember. Look for that to continue at the national tournament. The other half of the draw is wide open, with Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly) just seemingly due for a big tournament, though he's got the most unpleasant of paths to the final.
Prediction: No. 1 Kellen Russell (Michigan) over No. 6 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly)
149: Despite both of the top seeds being undefeated, much of the discussion about them has been about other aspects of their careers. For three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Penn State), it's about last year's championship match against Kyle Dake, when Dake accrued over six minutes of riding time. While for returning All-American Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State), it's either the fact he didn't AA until just last year, or Cowboys' fans constantly hoping to see even more out of him. Both wrestlers are key cogs in their teams' national title hopes, and should be on the raised mat Saturday night.
Prediction: No. 1 Frank Molinaro (Penn State) over No. 2 Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State)
157: Twice a national champion in as many years, it's hard not to see Kyle Dake (Cornell) wrestling on Saturday night for a third time. First off, he is darn good. Secondly, his half of the draw is manageable to say the very least. The highest returning placer, other than Dake, in this weight is Derek St. John (Iowa), who spent the second half of the season injured or wrestling through injury. He comes in off an impressive Big Ten tournament, with overtime wins over James Green (Nebraska) and Dylan Alton (Penn State), along with a last second victory over Jason Welch (Northwestern) in the final. Welch was moments away from the NCAA final last year, when he was one won scramble away from upending Bubba Jenkins in the semifinal round.
Prediction: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) over No. 3 Jason Welch (Northwestern)
165: Question one: Can anyone beat David Taylor (Penn State)? Better yet, question two: Can anyone even keep it close against Taylor. The answer to both this year has been a resounding no, 19 of his 27 victories have come by pin or technical fall with another six being major decisions. Unless, the NCAA makes a late ruling allowing Bubba Jenkins or Jordan Burroughs to come back into the fold, or Andrew Howe comes out of Olympic redshirt, expect more of the same this weekend. The magical career continues for Taylor with a first national title, and the Hodge Trophy along with a litany of other awards.
Prediction: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) over No. 7 Josh Asper (Maryland)
174: The most sure fire prediction this weekend is that Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) will win the NCAA's Elite 89 award for the competitor in the championships with the highest GPA. Amuchastegui, the resident brainiac in Division I wrestling, will win that honor for the third consecutive year -- and go on to do things outside of wrestling that very few of us can even fathom. Despite being runner-up last year, and undefeated this year, he is the third seed this year in part due to only four victories over fellow members of the tournament field. It seems that he's on a collision course with fellow undefeated Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) in the semifinal round, after having beaten super-star wrestlers Ed Ruth (Penn State) and Mack Lewnes just to reach the final last year. In the other half of the draw, Ruth has steamrolled through 26 opponents, with only three victories by decision all year.
Prediction: No. 2 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) over No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State)
184: For yet another year, this is a weight class that could be wrestled multiple times and yield many a different winner. Throwing all results out the window, the wrestler with the greatest ability potential is Quentin Wright (Penn State). Unlike last year, he's been more consistent this year; on the other hand, he's not "hot" at the right time right now, having lost to Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) two weeks ago at the Big Ten tournament. Last year's championship final between Wright and Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) could happen on the front-side as a semifinal on Friday night.
Prediction: No. 6 Quentin Wright (Penn State) over No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell)
197: Rare is the time that two wrestlers who were No. 1 seeds in a prior year appear in the same bracket in a following year. This is one of those times with Cam Simaz (Cornell) and Chris Honeycutt (Edinboro). Simaz has just one official loss this year, by a medical default; while Honeycutt also has just one loss, in the conference meet to Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh) -- an opponent he had beaten twice earlier in the season. In the half of the draw with Simaz, Cayle Byers (Oklahoma State) could pose a challenge. While Wilps is present in Honeycutt's half of the draw, along with Sonny Yohn (Minnesota) and Brent Haynes (Missouri).
Prediction: No. 2 Chris Honeycutt (Edinboro) over No. 5 Cayle Byers (Oklahoma State)
285: Like at 184 pounds, last year's NCAA final could happen in the semifinal round on Friday night. Defending champion Zach Rey (Lehigh) is the tournament's fourth seed, while runner-up Ryan Flores (American) is the top seed. Flores beat Rey in overtime in the EIWA championship match two weekends ago. The bottom half of the draw should break down to Big Ten champion Tony Nelson (Minnesota) and Las Vegas champion Clayton Jack (Oregon State).
Prediction: No. 4 Zack Rey (Lehigh) over No. 2 Tony Nelson (Minnesota)
Top Five Teams:
1. Penn State
2. Oklahoma State
3. Minnesota
4. Iowa
5. Cornell
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