1. Sanderson
2. Brooks
3. Starocci (would have been #2 without the knee injury)
4. Dake
5. Smith
6. Yianni
7. Stieber
Brooks and Starocci over Dake because Dake had a much lower career bonus percentage
You might be thinking #1 Braeden Davis going 2-2, but he lost to the eventual champ in Richie Figs and AA placer Volk. 125 was also such a crazy weight that being the number 1 seed meant very little in terms of predicative power.
Instead, might it be #2 Bastida who also went 2-2? Bastida had knocked off all the top heavies and was coming for Kerk's head. Yet he failed to make the podium.
They really should switch. Haines is huge and Mesenbrink is a small 165 pounder. He got big brothered by Carr last night, especially when Carr was on top.
Realistic contenders (must be undefeated):
Brooks (4x NCAA champ)
Keck (1x NCAA champ)
Kerk (1x NCAA champ)
Haines (1x NCAA champ)
Unrealistic contenders:
1. Vito (has multiple losses but is a 2x champ)
2. Starocci (has multiple medical forfeits but is a 4x champ beating two former champs in Lewis and Griffith)
3. Carr (has multiple losses but is a 2x champ)
The Fix-Vito match lasted almost 30 minutes in real time. More time was spent by wrestlers standing around waiting than actually wrestling. Can we start by making a rule that cumulative review time cannot exceed match time (i.e. 7 minutes)?
By seed they were slated to finish 9th and they finished 5th. This is actually a really great performance by them.
All the hoopla with gambling and the Ferarris and they almost doubled their predicted placement. Hats off to Iowa and the Brands. May their reign continue forever and ever.