East Stroudsburg Open (Saturday, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania)
The ESU Open might be as tough as it has ever been in its 39-year history. Top teams expected to send wrestlers this year include Lehigh, Arizona State, Penn State, and Hofstra. Harvard, Shippensburg, Delaware Valley, Maryland, and the Citadel have some solid individuals who should also figure into the mix.
Troy LettersTwo talented true freshmen to keep a close eye on this weekend at the ESU Open are David Erwin of Penn State at 165 pounds and Louis Caputo of Harvard at 184 pounds. Erwin, a two-time state champion from Ohio, has been very impressive since stepping foot on the Happy Valley campus. Caputo was a Junior Nationals double champion this past summer in Fargo. The most interesting storyline, however, is the fact that two of the nation's best high school wrestlers have pre-registered for this event at 125 pounds: Mike Grey of New Jersey and Pat McCaffrey of Pennsylvania.
Auggie-Brute-Adidas Open (Saturday, Minneapolis, Minnesota)
The Auggie Open, which is hosted by Augsburg and held at Si Melbi Hall in Minneapolis, attracts midlevel Division III teams such as Saint John's, Central College, Loras, St. Olaf, and Dubuque. A few top JUCO teams such as Ridgewater, Ellsworth, and Lincoln are expected to be in Minneapolis this year as well. Each weight class is separated into three divisions (based on skill or experience and determined by the coaches): Gold, Silver, and Bronze.
Although team points are not kept, host Augsburg dominates this event every year. Last year, the Auggies had nine individual champions in the Gold Division. If you're going to the event this year hoping to see Augsburg three-time undefeated NCAA champion Marcus LeVesseur, you'll come home disappointed. Augsburg coach Jeff Swenson released this statement to RevWrestling.com this week: "Marcus will not be wrestling this season because of academic and personal reasons. We hope to have him back next year." The good news for fans traveling to this event is that you'll get the opportunity to see three Division I All-Americans in action (all from the University of Minnesota): Mack Reiter at 133 pounds, Matt Nagel at 165 pounds, and Cole Konrad at heavyweight. Reiter, Nagel, and Konrad will all compete in the NWCA All-Star Classic on Monday night. You can bet that a few of the newcomers to Division III and JUCO will get an unpleasant initiation into college wrestling.
Ryan Kaufman-Glen Brand Open (Saturday, Omaha, Nebraska)
The Kaufman-Brand in Omaha has become the premier collegiate open tournament in the country. A total of 42 teams across all divisions are expected to enter approximately 650 wrestlers in the tournament this year -- making it the country's largest single-day collegiate tournament. Last year, 700 wrestlers competed in over 1,000 matches during that lasted from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. The U.S. Olympic Training Center is expected to send a team, which should help stiffen the competition even more. Teams entered from Division I: Boise Sate, Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin, Wyoming, North Dakota State and South Dakota State. Division II: Adams State, Augustana, Central Oklahoma, Chadron State, Colorado Mines, Minnesota State, Mankato, Minnesota State-Moorhead, UNO, Nebraska-Kearney, Northern State, St. Cloud State. Division III: Luther, Northwestern, Wartburg and Wisconsin-La Crosse. NAIA: Briar Cliff, Buena Vista, Dana, Mary, Missouri Baptist, Waldorf. Junior Colleges: Ellsworth, Iowa Central, Labette, Lincoln, Neosho, and Ridgewater.
While it's nearly impossible to forecast match-ups prior to the event because most teams don't publicly announce their tournament rosters before Saturday, there is no question that you'll see great match-ups at the Kaufman-Brand. All-Americans will battle All-Americans. Last year, amazingly, six wrestlers who reached the NCAA finals (five of those being NCAA champions) won titles in Omaha. This year, Zack Esposito, Johny Hendricks and Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State will all stay home to rest for the NWCA All-Star Classic on Monday night.
Nathan MorganBody Bar Invitational (Saturday, Ithaca, New York)
Last year, two of the eventual top-five teams in the country competed at the Body Bar: Michigan and host Cornell. But with the Wolverines not attending this year, and the Big Red not as strong as they were a year ago, this tournament will take a step back in terms of overall talent. The teams expected to be in Ithaca this year include Army, Drexel, Cornell, Maryland, Sacred Heart, Ithaca, Kent State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Oregon State, and Slippery Rock.
One interesting storyline at the Body Bar this year is the much anticipated debut of Troy Nickerson of Cornell at 125 pounds. Remember, four years ago, Cornell had a freshman 125-pounder finish runner-up at the Body Bar named Travis Lee. Lee, who would eventually go on to win two NCAA titles, lost in the finals to a wrestler from Cleveland State. So, if Nickerson does happen to lose to a midlevel Division I wrestler this weekend, let's hold off on scrutinizing an 18-year-old freshman.
Other collegiate wrestling tournaments this weekend:
Saturday: Navy Classic (Annapolis, Maryland), Concordia Open (Mequon, Wisconsin), Fullerton Open (Fullerton, California), Northern Colorado Open (Greeley, Colorado), and Coe Turkey Invitational (Cedar Rapids, Iowa).
Sunday: Missouri Open (Columbia, Missouri), Keystone Classic (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), and Oneonta State Invitational (Oneonta, New York).
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