2x Big 12 champion Wyatt Hendrickson (photo courtesy of Mark Lundy; LutteLens.com)Brackets were released last night and, for a bit, social media and message boards went quiet as fans thumbed through them looking for the good draws, bad draws and questionable seeds. After that brief silence, there was plenty of hand-wringing and debate about seeds. Looking into the seeds and the process, some of them actually make sense, and some don't.
Here are some of my initial reactions to the bracket release:
Injury Defaults Paid the Price
All year, and in previous years, fans have grumbled about coaches skirting the system and wrestling their guys less frequently than ever. The saying "All that Matters is March" comes into play, as coaches will do whatever it takes to get their wrestlers healthy into the tournament or put them in the best place to succeed.
Nowhere was that more evident than with West Virginia's Killian Cardinale. It's no secret that Cardinale has battled shoulder injuries for the last couple of years of his career. Last year, Cardinale only had 12 bouts entering the postseason. This season, he made his debut a the Midlands and medically forfeited out after three wins. Cardinale would win all seven of his subsequent duals. At the Big 12 Championships, Cardinale purposely injury defaulted out after the whistle blew in his opening bout.
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