But the NCAA Championships are still my favorite wrestling event.
The three-day collegiate extravaganza offers so much in terms of excellent wrestling with compelling drama as individuals and teams battle for championships.
The event is wrestled in front of sellout crowds and the atmosphere for this year's event will be electric once again with it being held in the wrestling hotbed of Pittsburgh.
There are so many interesting storylines to follow again at this year's tournament on March 21-23.
Here is a look at some top storylines to watch, in no particular order, at this year's NCAA tournament.
Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal shared Big Ten Wrestler of the Year honors (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)The greatness of Nolf and Nickal
What a treat it has been over the past four years to watch Penn State superstars Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal. They are two of the most dynamic and dominating wrestlers we've seen at the collegiate level. They go out and wrestle like you're supposed to. They open up, score points and put on a show. The biggest question mark surrounding them is which of those two will win the Hodge Trophy this year as the best collegiate wrestler. Both wrestlers are certainly deserving.
Will Spencer Lee do it again?
Iowa's Spencer Lee lost in the Big Ten tournament last year before winning a national title as a freshman. Lee lost at Big Tens again, in overtime to Northwestern's Sebastian Rivera in the finals. He also also suffered a late season loss by fall to Oklahoma State's Nick Piccininni. Lee looked good at Big Tens and had the lead late in his finals bout before falling. He obviously knows how to excel on the big stage as a Cadet and Junior world champion. I definitely wouldn't count him out at NCAAs in the 125-pound class. Lee is a Pennsylvania native who also will be wrestling close to home. He will be the No. 3 seed at 125.
Yianni vs. McKenna
This is one of the matchups most wrestling observers can't wait to see. Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis won nationals last year as a freshman even after severely injuring his knee during the tournament. Yianni is a stud who won two Cadet world titles. Ohio State's Joey McKenna is down to his last shot in college. He won a Junior world silver medal before losing to Logan Stieber in the Final X last year. McKenna is wrestling at a high level. No doubt, this could be a very entertaining match between two really good wrestlers. It would be entertaining for fans to watch if they meet at 141 pounds. Diakomihalis and McKenna are seeded 1-2 for the NCAAs at 141.
Gable Steveson will look to bounce back from his Big Ten finals loss to Anthony Cassar of PSU (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)How will Fix and Gable do?
It is the first NCAA tournament for freshman studs Daton Fix of Oklahoma State and Gable Steveson of Minnesota. Both wrestlers have been ranked No. 1 and the two age-group world champions certainly have a shot at contending for national titles. Opponents have slowed these guys down and they've been involved in some low-scoring matches. I would love to see both guys open it up more at nationals. That could be the key for both of them in Pittsburgh. They are two of my favorite guys to watch. Fix is seeded No. 1 at 133 and Steveson is seeded third at heavyweight.
Who will prevail in loaded 133 division?
Fix is the favorite here, but this incredibly loaded weight class also features three wrestlers who have placed second in this tournament. That list includes Nick Suriano of Rutgers, Stevan Micic of Michigan and Ethan Lizak of Minnesota. All three of those guys are ranked in the top five. Plus, you throw in Iowa's Austin DeSanto, who has had an excellent season. Pitt freshman Micky Phillippi is another guy to watch in addition to numerous others like North Carolina State's Tariq Wilson, Wyoming's Montorie Bridges, Ohio State's Luke Pletcher, Iowa State's Austin Gomez and Penn State's Roman Bravo-Young. That weight class alone will be worth the price of admission this year. There will be some great battles in this division.
Hall vs. Valencia
No doubt, this would be another highly anticipated match. Arizona State's Zahid Valencia defeated Penn State's Mark Hall, a 2017 NCAA champion, with an impressive performance in last year's 174-pound finals. Hall came back with a solid showing to beat Valencia in their nationally televised dual meet this season. Hall is an age-group world champion who is very skilled on his feet, but he's also very good in folkstyle in the top position. The key for Valencia, a Junior world silver medalist, will be to stay off bottom and score the first takedown. These are two accomplished wrestlers and it should be another great matchup if they meet at nationals. Hall is seeded No. 1 and Valencia No. 3 for NCAAs.
Alex Marinelli defeated two-time NCAA champ Vincenzo Joseph of PSU to win a Big Ten title (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Bull on a mission
Iowa's Alex "Bull" Marinelli has climbed to the top spot at 165 pounds after his impressive Big Ten finals win over two-time NCAA champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State. Marinelli beat Joseph for the second time by throwing him to his back with a six-point move. Now can he do it again? Joseph obviously knows how to peak when it counts most and you can bet that he will come back strong from that setback. Both wrestlers face tough roads in a strong weight class, but it would be fun to see these two standouts match up again on Saturday night. Marianelli and Joseph are seeded 1-2 for NCAAs at 165. Marianelli is the 1 seed, but he has a tough draw that could start with a first-round match against two-time All-American Joe Smith of Oklahoma State.
Martin's quest for bookend titles
Ohio State's Myles Martin won an NCAA title as a freshman. Now he's looking to cap his collegiate career with a second title. Martin reached the finals last year before falling to long-time rival Bo Nickal of Penn State. Martin is the top seed and the favorite at 184 pounds and he is looking very good. He may also need to put up some bonus points if the Buckeyes hope to challenge the Nittany Lions for the title.
Micic vs. DeSanto
There is no secret there is some bad blood between some of the competitors at 133 pounds. No. 2 seed Stevan Micic of Michigan and No. 7 Austin DeSanto of Iowa are on course to battle in the 133 quarterfinals. DeSanto beat Micic handily early last season while competing for Drexel before falling to him in a one-sided match in the national quarterfinals where DeSanto lost his cool in the closing seconds. If DeSanto beats Micic, he could face another wrestler he had two hard-fought battles with this season in No. 3 seed Nick Suriano of Rutgers. DeSanto beat Suriano in the dual before Suriano returned the favor at Big Tens. Both bouts were intense, physical and emotional matches. DeSanto likely will need to defeat No. 10 seed Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State in the second round to earn a shot at Micic.
Will Penn State's run continue?
The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 1 and loaded from top to bottom. But crazy things can happen in this three-day tournament. Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Iowa and Michigan are among the teams who will have to be at their absolute peak to knock off Penn State. Coach Cael Sanderson's teams have been so good in March and they're coming off a superb showing at the Big Ten tournament. The Nittany Lions have won the last three national titles and seven of the last eight. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. Wrestling close to home, in Pittsburgh, probably won't hurt the Nittany Lions either. Penn State started its run of titles in 2011 in Philadelphia and its run may continue again this year in its home state of Pennsylvania. It would take something remarkable for someone other than the Nittany Lions to win the team title this year.
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