Weight by Weight Preview - All Weights

[CowboyT]

I think I am going to run out of time, so I am going to put my preview for all weights into one thread. (I am using intermat for rankings.)

125

• Roster - Jayce Mullin, Sam Smith, Troy Spratley
• Starter - There is no question, this is Troy Spratley's weight.
• Ranking - Troy is ranked 6th by Intermat. This has been a difficult weight to rank since last year. Spratly beat the number 1 ranked wrestler and defending national champion (Richie Figueroa) last year. Spratley has Richie Figueroa (#1) and Jore Volk (#2) on the schedule early in the year. There may be other highly ranked wrestlers at CKLV.
• Prediction - I see Spratley having potential to be a national champ to not quite making top 8 due to the uncertainty and competition in this weight. My prediction is 4th place. I want to see the consistency to be confident in him placing higher.

133

• Roster - Zach Blankenship, Cael Hughes, JJ McComas, Jim Mullin, Reece Witcraft
• Starter - There is some question here. I believe most think Cael Hughes is the best if he can make weight consistently. Reece Witcraft has held this position in the past and even qualified for the national tournament. I have no insider knowledge, so based on rumors I would say Cael Hughes takes this spot with Witcraft getting the opportunity in several matches.
• Ranking - No one is ranked for OSU at this weight. (I am using intermat rankings.) There will be several opportunities to wrestle quality competition. Drake Ayala (7th Iowa), Nasir Bailey (2nd Little Rock), Evan Frost (5th Iowa State), and Connor McGonagle (9th Virginia Tech) are all on the schedule. This doesn't include the competition at CKLV.
• Prediction - I don't have much to go on to make this prediction. I believe Cael Hughes could sneak into 7th or 8th at nationals. Witcraft could also win a match or two at nationals, but is unlikely to place. My prediction will be a national qualifier who does not place top 8 at nationals.

141

• Roster - Kolter Burton, Jake Hamiti, Tagen Jamison, Ramon Salazar
• Starter - This is one weight were there has been a lot of speculation lately due to Cael Hughes possibly needing to move up. Nevertheless, I believe that Tagen Jamison will be the starter for the 2nd year in a row at this weight.
• Ranking - Tagen Jamison is ranked 14th. Competition this year includes several ranked wrestlers. Number 1 ranked Andrew Alirez is not on the schedule but is in the big 12, so he will be at the conference tournament. Kai Orine (6th NC State), Cael Happel (7th Northern Iowa), Jordan Titus (11th West Virginia), Casey Swiderski (12th Iowa State), Josh Edmond (13th Missouri), Sam Latona (16th Virginia Tech), and Mosha Schwartz (18th Oklahoma) are some of the ranked wrestlers on the schedule.
• Prediction - Tagen showed a lot of ability this year. I predict improvement and 8th place finish at nationals.

149

• Roster - Cutter Sheets, Carter Young
• Starter - Unless there is some movement around the weights, this is Carter's weight.
• Ranking - Carter is ranked 17th. Competition on the schedule includes Caleb Henson (1st Virginia Tech), Ty Watters (3rd West Virginia), Kyle Parco (4th Iowa), Anthony Echemendia (7th Iowa State), Jesse Vasquez (14th Arizona State), Jordan Williams (15th, OSU starter from last year, Little Rock), Colin Realbuto (16th Northern Iowa), and Gabe Willochell (18th Wyoming).
• Prediction - I haven't seen Carter Young wrestle in a long time due to his injury. With that in mind I do not predict he make all american status at nationals. I hope he proves me wrong.

157

• Roster - Caleb Fish, Jeremy Manibog, Teague Travis
• Starter - I believe the starter will be Teague Travis and that Caleb Fish will redshirt. If Fish doesn't redshirt, he could possibly be the starter.
• Ranking - Teague Travis is ranked 9th. Competition on the schedule includes Jacori Teemer (1st Iowa), Ed Scott (6th NC State), Ryder Downey (7th Northern Iowa), and Paniro Johnson (11th Iowa State).
• Prediction - I enjoyed watching Teague last year. I predict he will be solid all year but does not quite make all american status at nationals. Again, I hope to be wrong.

165

• Roster - Cameron Amine, Jaxen Wright, Colin Young
• Starter - Amine will be the starter.
• Ranking - Amine is ranked 5th. Competition on the schedule this year includes Mikey Caliendo (2nd Iowa), Peyton Hall (3rd West Virginia), Terrell Barraclough (6th Utah Valley), Matthew Olguin (9th Oregon State), MJ Gaitan ( 10th Iowa State), Joey Bianchi (18th Little Rock), and Connor Brady (20th Virginia Tech).
• Prediction - There is a lot of tough competition during the year, so I predict some losses; however, I believe he will be ready come tournament time and will place 4th.

174

• Roster - Dean Hamiti, Benjamin Mower, Blake Skidgel
• Starter - Dean Hamiti will be the starter here.
• Ranking - Hamiti is ranked 5th. Competition this year includes Keegan O'Toole (1st Missouri), Lennox Wolak (4th Virginia Tech), Nelson Brands (6th Iowa), and Jared Simma (13th Northern Iowa).
• Prediction - I believe Dean is a litte undervalued here. I can see him making the semifinals and placing 3rd at nationals.

184

• Roster - Dustin Plott, Jersey Robb, Brayden Thompson
• Starter - Dustin Plott will be the starter here. This is one of the weights with the most depth. All of these three had wins last year against big 12 opponents.
• Ranking - Plott is ranked number 3. Competition this year includes Parker Keckeisen (2nd Northern Iowa), TJ Stewart (5th Virginia Tech), Gabe Arnold (9th Iowa), Dylan Fishback (10th NC State), Brock DelSignore (13th Little Rock), Colton Hawks (14th Missouri), and Evan Bockman (16th Iowa State).
• Prediction - Plott separated himself from most of these wrestlers last year. I would really like to see him win a national title; however, the top two guys may have separated themselves even more. I am picking Plott 3rd, but I really hope he proves me wrong.

197

• Roster - Trevor Dopps, Kyle Haas, Cody Merrill, Luke Surber
• Starter - It appears that Luke Surber will be the starter here. Cody Merrill is a true freshman who comes in very highly ranked, so he could play a factor at some point in the year.
• Ranking - Surber is ranked 20th. Competition this year includes Stephen Buchanan (2nd Iowa), Rocky Elam (4th Missouri), Stephen Little (5th Little Rock), Trey Munoz (7th Oregon State), Andy Smith (13th Virginia Tech), Wyatt Voelker (15th Northern Iowa), and Joey Novak (16th Wyoming).
• Prediction - Surber has beaten Rocky Elam in the past, but has been incosistent. I predict that Surber will take some loses during the year but will place 8th at nationals.

285

• Roster - Konner Doucet, Wyatt Hendrickson, Hayden Simpson
• Starter - Wyatt Hendrickson will be the starter.
• Ranking - Hendrickson is ranked 2nd. Competition this year includes Colton Schultz (4th Arizona State), Yonger Bastida (6th Iowa State), Isaac Trumble (10th NC State), Ben Kueter (11th Iowa), Hunter Catka (14th Virginia Tech), and Josiah Hill (17th Little Rock).
• Prediction - Wyatt will be a fan favorite because he will attach, score points, and get lots of pins. I expect the move to Oklahoma State will give him the extra support he needs to win a national title.

 

[MJM]

I like your predictions.

My 2 cents. I agree with 125 and 133.

At 141, Jamison was a much better wrestler early in year, beating Brock Hardy (who placed 3rd) at CK. Also, I have seen replays of Hughes freestyle matches. Not only was he very, very good, what he did in freestyle translates directly to folk style. Namely he got his points from basic leg takedowns, not from tilts or chest wraps or forcing a guy out of bounds. In one match Hughes started last year he beat the guy from Wyoming badly. That guy just pinned the 15th raked guy in a duel. I think somebody comes through at 141, I don't know who.

At 149 I agree it is Carter Young. I watched a video of Carter verses Ian Parker at Last Chance trials early this year. Bit of history, Ian Parker was ISU guy who was good, but round of 12 type guy. Parker beat Young badly when the two wrestled in collage in 2022/2023 (?). In the Last Chance this year Parker won a very close match Young should have won. This tells me Young is much better than he was, but still not quite good enough to be AA.

At 157, I agree it is Travis. Remember last year Travis was at 149 and moved up to 157 because Williams was at 149. Was a small 157 pounder and was overpowered by a number of other 157 pounders. If he has gained strength so he can avoid getting overpowered, I think he can AA. Wasn't that far away from it last year, and beat NC State guy who was an AA.

Side note, while I think you have Young at 149 and Travis at 157, I think it is possible you end up with Fish at 157 and Travis at 149.

Agree with what you said about 165, 174, and 184.

At 197, I think Surber could surprise (I am a homer). Was close in 2022/2023. I would argue was one match away. Injured in 2023/2024, so forget that year.

At 285, even being a homer, not sure how you get Hendrickson beating the PSU guy is defending champ. But I hope you are right.

 

[CowboyT]

There are a lot of potential guys who have some big wins, but need to show they are ready for the next step. I just think Hendrickson is going to be a fan favorite, and I hope the extra boost in the room can help him. Hendrickson did lose to Bastida in the big 12 finals last year. If you are interested in seeing some impressive defense by a heavyweight, you should pull that match up on youtube because Bastida really showed some agility for a big guy. I believe Hendrickson will just learn from that and get better. I also keep adding to tell your friends and bring people to matches. There is some momentum right now. We need to capture as much as we can to re-establish ourselves as the national power.