Michigan State Open Preview

COLLEGE SEASON STARTS OFF WITH A BANG AT LOADED MSU OPEN

• 125
• 133
• 141
• 149
• 157
• 165
• 174
• 184
• 197
• 285

125

The Field
Aaron Assad- Purdue
Britain Carter- Columbia
Angelo DiSabato- Ohio
Derek Elmore- Northern Illinois
Jacob Goodwin- Notre Dame
Andy Lenz- St. Catherine
Cory Lester- Michigan
Johnson Mai- Columbia
Mike Manuche- Ohio State
Kristopher McKinley- Indiana Tech
Stevan Micic- Northwestern
Zeke Moisey- West Virginia
Ian Ross- Lake Erie
#8 Nathan Tomasello- Ohio State
Del Vinas- Kent State
Luke Welch- Purdue
Joe Wheeling- West Virginia
#14 Conor Youtsey- Michigan

Outlook
While only 18 guys are currently entered, this should be a pretty competitive field from top to bottom.  A Tomasello-Youtsey finals matchup should likely take place and will be a good one if it does.  Tomasello was unbeaten last season as a redshirt, but Youtsey had a strong freshman campaign last year as well.  I've got Tomasello winning it, but Youtsey is more than capable of taking home a title as well.  

Beyond that, look for two true freshman to make some waves and hopefully meet at some point int the tournament.  Zeke Moisey and Stevan Micic are some of the most decorated wrestlers from the Class of 2014, so that matchup is definitely intriguing.  

You've also got Del Vinas, Kent's projected 125 starter, and Luke Welch, who is coming down from 133.  Both of these guys are quality guys who will be looking to knock off some big names.

2014 Head-to-Heads
Assad over Goodwin 3-2
Goodwin over Assad, 3-2
Lester over Assad, 3-1
Tomasello over Goodwin, 9-4
Tomasello over Mai, 11-1
Vinas over Lester, 5-2
Welch over DiSabato, 5-3

Picks
1. Nathan Tomasello
2. Conor Youtsey
3. Zeke Moisey
4. Stevan Micic
5. Luke Welch
6. Del Vinas
7. Joe Wheeling
8. Cory Lester

133

The Field
#32 Angelo Amenta- Columbia
Anthony Ayers- Notre Dame
Kyle Ayersman- Purdue
#8 Rossi Bruno- Michigan
Hermilo Esquivel- Michigan State
George Fisher- Michigan
Javier Gasca- Michigan State
Stanley Hendricks- Ohio State
Zeb Hilyard- Michigan
Tyler Keselring- Central Michigan
Christian Monserrat- Unattached
Jordan Northrup- Northern Illinois
Cody Pae- Purdue
#7 Zane Richards- Illinois
#23 (141) Danny Sabatello- Purdue
Travis Salyer- Tiffin
Luke Schroeder- Purdue
Kagan Squire- Ohio
Cory Stainbrook- West Virginia
Tom Szymula- Notre Dame
Sam White- Unattached
Brett Yarbrough- Indiana Tech
Garth Yenter- Michigan State

Outlook
Probably the best weight in the tournament, 133 has tons of firepower.  You've got two top-10 guys in Richards and Bruno leading the way, who are the likely finalists.  Richards won the last meeting 6-1, so Bruno will have to make up some ground to pull off this early meeting.  

Two other NCAA Qualifiers are also in the bracket, though they weren't at 133 last season.  Danny Sabatello is coming down from 141 and Cory Stainbrook is jumping up from 125.  Both of them are proven and it will be interesting to see where they fit in with the new weight class.  

Past that, you've got about six guys who are relatively even.  #32 Angelo Amenta had a really good year in 2014 though he fell short of making the national tournament.  He's got the ability to beat some really good guys in East Lansing.  

Jordan Northrup is someone who is a bit unknown but had an outstanding redshirt season last year and will definitely make his presence felt this weekend.  

CMU's Tyler Keselring has been chomping at the bit to become a full-time starter for the Chippewas, and has had success throughout his career.  

Host Michigan State will roll out two guys who are quality 133's in redshirt freshman Javier Gasca and returning starter Garth Yenter.  Gasca won 20+ matches last year, while Yenter was solid, even knocking off All-American Joe Roth during the year.  

Rounding out the contenders is George Fisher of Michigan.  Fisher was 3rd at the FILA Juniors this spring, so watch out for him as well.

2014 Head-to-Heads
Amenta over Yenter, 4-0
Ayersman over Yarbrough, 10-2
Bruno over Yenter, 2-0/7-2
Fisher over Ayers, 7-2
Gasca over Ayersman, 7-3/5-2
Gasca over Keselring, 3-2
Gasca over Hilyard, Fall 4:09
Gasca over Squire, 10-6
Keselring over Gasca, 5-2
Northrup over Fisher, 9-6
Northrup over Gasca, 16-9
Richards over Bruno, 6-1
Richards over Yenter, 7-2/5-2
White over Gasca, 7-3

Picks
1. Zane Richards
2. Rossi Bruno
3. Danny Sabatello
4. Jordan Northrup
5. Tyler Keslering
6. Angelo Amenta
7. Javier Gasca
8. Cory Stainbrook

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141

The Field
Sal Annoreno- Northern Illinois
Chris Araoz- Columbia
Tyler Argue- Northern Illinois
Andrew Bannister- Notre Dame
Travis Barroquillo- Indiana Tech
Kyle Bauer- Kent State
Jake Byers- Eastern Michigan
Louis Colonna- West Virginia
Jonathan Edwards- Indiana
Brandon Fifield- Michigan State
Austin Gillihan- Lake Erie
Cisco Inchaurregui- Notre Dame
Brian Johnson- Unattached
Derek Krajewski- Finger Lakes WC
Nick Lawrence- Purdue
Matt Leshinger- Columbia
#16 (at 149) Mike Morales- West Virginia
Ryan Ponte- Columbia
Pat Prada- Navy
Jacob Rockoff- Ohio
Mike Screptock- Tiffin
#20 Tyler Small- Kent State
Jake Smith- West Virginia
Kyle Springer- Eastern Michigan
Terry Turner- Michigan State
Eric Wolfe- Notre Dame

Outlook
141 is probably the most wide open weight of any in the tournament.  Mike Morales is the class of the field, dropping from 149 last season where he was an NCAA Qualifier for the second time in his career.  He should be able to roll through the bracket with relative ease.  

Tyler Small is also in the weight class, Small qualified for NCAA's in the past, but just missed out last season.  He is not eligible to compete for the Golden Flashes in the first semester, so he'll have to rack up some quality wins on the open circuit to give himself a shot at getting back to nationals.  

Keep an eye out for Nick Lawrence of Purdue and Ryan Ponte of Columbia as well.  Both guys had strong seasons in 2014 and are likely starters for their respective schools.  

Another wildcard in the mix is 2x NAIA All-American Travis Barroquillo of Indiana Tech.  Barroquillo has shown in the past that he can compete with some top-level D1 guys, and he'll be looking to prove himself again this weekend.

2014 Head-to-Heads
Argue over Rockoff, 24-9
Bannister over Turner, 5-3/Fall 1:19
Barroquillo over Gillihan, 9-2
Bauer over Turner, 3-2
Byers over Johnson, Fall 2:16
Lawrence over Screptock, 6-4
Lawrence over Annoreno, Fall 2:49S
Small over Argue, 9-6

Picks
1. Mike Morales
2. Tyler Small
3. Nick Lawrence
4. Ryan Ponte
5. Travis Barroquillo
6. Tyler Argue
7. Jake Smith
8. Pat Prada

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149

The Field
Akinfemi Akinniran- Indiana Tech
Jordan Amine- Michigan
Mickey Bennett- West Virginia
Aaron Calderon- Michigan
#15 Tywan Claxton- Ohio
Austin Culton- Northern Illinois
James DeKrone- West Virginia
#30 (at 157) Alex Griffin- Purdue
Devon Jackson- Unattached
James Jenkins- Notre Dame
William Jenkins- West Virginia
Joe Johnson- Michigan State
Lukas Kern- Kent State
Angelo Latora- Michigan
Ty Millward- West Virginia
Trevor Moody- Indiana
Alec Mooradian- Unattached
Isaac Morisette- Lake Erie
Gabe Morse- Northern Illinois
Brandon Nelsen- Purdue
Nic Goebel- Findlay
Adam Nichols- Central Michigan
Tyler Ponte- Columbia
Joe Randazzo- Indiana
Michael Sepke- Unattached
#4 Hunter Stieber- Ohio State
Connor Sutton- Columbia
Isaac Thomas- Lindsey Wilson
Nick Trimble- Michigan State
Gideon VanHook- Indiana
Cody VanderHagen- Michigan
Ben Villaret- Columbia

Outlook
Hunter Stieber returns to varsity action this season and he'll hope to kick it off with a tournament title.  To do so, he'll have to go through Tywan Claxton of Ohio U.  Stieber beat Claxton 9-4 a year ago, so he should be able to repeat that and roll to a championship on opening weekend.  Claxton is likely the next best guy in the field and will look to continue the success he enjoyed last season in his first year starting for the Bobcats.  

A pair of Boilermakers are also entered at 149 and both are really solid.  Alex Griffin was a top-33 preseason guy at 157, so I like his odds to have a good year at 149.  He'll face some really good intrasquad competition from Brandon Nelsen, however.  Nelsen qualified for NCAA's in 2013 at 141, though he struggled at 149 a year ago.  He will try to get back on track with a strong start this weekend.  

Past that look for a trio of Michigan natives to make some noise at MSU.  NIU's Gabe Morse, MSU's Nick Trimble, and UM's Angelo Latora will be looking to open up their years on a positive note after pretty good years in 2014.  Morse has a win over Grajales to his credit, Trimble was vastly improved and notched a bunch of big wins, while Latora was the starter at 141 while Dutton was out and had success during that stint.

2014 Head-to-Heads
Claxton over Nelsen, 8-5
Griffin over Sutton, 5-0
Griffin over Johnson, 18-3
Griffin over Kern, 11-0
Griffin over Morse, 12-4
Nelsen over Morse, 4-2
Nelsen over Randazzo, Fall 2:21
Stieber over Griffin, 8-1
Stieber over Claxton, 9-4
Trimble over Nelsen, 2-1
Trimble over VanderHagen, 4-2

Picks
1. Hunter Stieber
2. Tywan Claxton
3. Alex Griffin
4. Brandon Nelsen
5. Nick Trimble
6. Gabe Morse
7. Angelo Latora
8. Connor Sutton

157

The Field
Andrew Candiello- Kent State
#20 Spartak Chino- Ohio
Jordan Cowell- Findlay
Joey Cozart- Lindsey Wilson
Travis Curley- Michigan State
#10 Josh Demas- Ohio State
Craig Eifert- Cornell
Shawn Fayette- Northern Illinois
Zachary Heeter- West Virginia
Robert Hughes- Michigan State
Randy Languis- Ohio State
Malcolm Martin- Central Michigan
Justin Melick- Eastern Michigan
#31 Andrew Morse- Northern Illinois
#11 Brian Murphy- Michigan
Dalton Nicely- Findlay
Matt Pasqualini- Michigan State
Roman Perryman- West Virginia
Jonathon Rivera- Notre Dame
Andrew Romanchik- Ohio
Chad Ryan- Columbia
Jacob Salazar- Michigan
George Scheffel- West Virginia
#24 Markus Schiedel- Columbia
Dustin Schultz- Purdue
Michael Sepke- Unattached
Kyle Simaz- Finger Lakes WC
Matt Smith- Northern Illinois
Doug Welch- Purdue
Joey White- Findlay
Roger Wildmo- Michigan State

Outlook
This is the largest weight in the tournament and, as you'll see below, tons of these guys saw each other last season.  I think it could shape out a number of ways, but it will definitely be interesting to see where everyone is at in Week 1.  

The most likely scenario is that Demas and Murphy meet up in the finals.  Demas was out last season but was a match away from AA honors in 2013.  Murphy was lights out as a true freshman, knocking off tons of studs en route to a NCAA tournament berth.  Should they meet up, I think Demas' quickness and athleticism will be a little too much for Murphy, though that result could be flipped at some point in the season, as Murphy is very good as well.  

Two other guys coming off of NCAA Qualifying years are Spartak Chino of OU and Markus Scheidel of Columbia.  They actual met at nationals, where Scheidel pulled out a 10-6 thriller in the 2nd Tiebreaker.  Hopefully they can put on a show once again.  

Moving down the line, you've got two guys who are probably the best backups in the country in Craig Eifert and Randy Languis.  Each of them could make the national tournament but have the misfortune of being behind some really top-notch teammates.  They've both beaten really good wrestlers in the past, so don't be surprised if they knock off one of the four previously mentioned guys this weekend.  

2014 Head-to-Heads
Candiello over Hughes, 6-5
Candiello over Pasqualini, 9-3
Chino over Smith, 9-4
Chino over Morse, 4-1
Curley over Melick, 7-2
Languis over Rivera, 2-0
Languis over Wildmo, 5-2
Martin over Candiello, 12-4
Martin over Rivera, 7-0
Martin over Heeter, 3-2
Morse over Romanchik, 2-0
Morse over Salazar, 7-2/5-2
Murphy over Smith, Fall 4:00
Murphy over Wildmo, 4-2
Murphy over Languis, 5-2
Rivera over Cowell, 5-2
Rivera over Romanchik, 3-2
Romanchik over Ryan, 6-2
Romanchik over Welch, 7-5
Ryan over Smith, Fall 3:39
Ryan over Morse, Fall 5:34
Scheidel over Martin, 11-3
Scheidel over Wildmo, 13-6
Scheidel over Romanchik, 2-1
Scheidel over Chino, 10-6 TB2
Schultz over Languis, 5-3 SV
Smith over Candiello, 10-4
Welch over Cozart, 5-4
Welch over Wildmo, 14-3

Picks
1. Josh Demas
2. Brian Murphy
3. Spartak Chino
4. Markus Scheidel
5. Craig Eifert
6. Randy Languis
7. Andrew Morse
8. Jake Salazar

165

The Field
Cody Allala- Notre Dame
Tyler Buckwalter- Kent State
Michael Burge- Findlay
Austin Coniker- Columbia
Derek Davison- Eastern Michigan
Austin Geerlings- Eastern Michigan
Louden Gordon- Notre Dame
#20 Harrison Hightower- Ohio
Andy Hoselton- Purdue
Treae Jackson- Unattached
Kirk Johnson- Purdue
#9 Bo Jordan- Ohio State
Justin Kresevic- Ohio State
Devan Marry- Eastern Michigan
#8 Taylor Massa- Michigan
Shaun'Qae McMurtry- Northern Illinois
Eric Moon- Unattached
Connor Moynihan- Central Michigan
Dominic Prezzia- Ohio State
Pat Robinson- Purdue
Luke Schmitt- Purdue
Nick Skonieczny- Findlay
Matt Vandermeer- Lake Erie
Dean Vettese- Michigan State
#19 Peyton Walsh- Navy
#30 Ryan Watts- Michigan State
Tim Wheeling- West Virginia
Tyrel White- Columbia

Outlook
One of the marquee matchups in all of wrestling this weekend could take place between Taylor Massa and Bo Jordan.  While they'll see each other many times during the year, this should prove as a good indicator as to where both guys are at right now.  Many are picking Jordan, and he may do it, but I've got Massa.  Let's not forget that Massa was the High School Wrestler of the Year himself and has already had proven quality collegiate results.  So while Jordan was unbeaten last season as a redshirt, I like Massa's experience to carry him to a title.  

Peyton Walsh of Navy could make some noise in the bracket as well.  He's ranked in the top-20 and will be looking to start his senior year on the right foot.  Walsh also had a pair of wins over Hightower last season, who I have slated to finish fourth.  

MSU's Ryan Watts returns to action after missing nearly all of last season with injury.  He was a 2013 NCAA Qualifier and had a couple of wins over national qualifiers in his limited action last year as well.  

2014 Head-to-Heads
Buckwalter over Vettese, 5-2
Buckwalter over McMurtry, 8-6 SV
Geerlings over Marry, Fall 6:59
Geerlings over Moynihan, 10-3
Gordon over Moynihan, 20-10
Hightower over Hoselton, 5-0
Hightower over McMurtry, Fall 2:25/Fall 4:36
Hightower over Buckwalter, 9-4
Jordan over Hoselton, 21-6
Jordan over Robinson, 25-10
Kresevic over Gordon, 8-2/3-0
Marry over Davison, Fall 1:54
Massa over Vettese, Fall 1:26
Massa over Robinson, Fall 1:47
Massa over McMurtry, 5-3/6-1
McMurtry over Vettese, 9-5
McMurtry over Buckwalter, 8-4
Prezzia over Davison, 10-3
Vandermeer over Gordon, 1-0
Vettese over Marry, 10-1
Vettese over Geerlings, 8-0
Vettese over Hightower, 5-2
Walsh over Hightower, 4-0/2-0
Watts over Gordon, 16-5

Picks
1. Taylor Massa
2. Bo Jordan
3. Peyton Walsh
4. Harrison Hightower
5. Ryan Watts
6. Tyler Buckwalter
7. Shaun'Qae McMurtry
8. Dean Vettese

174

The Field
Chris Baker- Tiffin
Drew Barnes- Michigan State
Ernest Battaglia- Michigan
Alex Bergman- Navy
Connor Brancheau- Michigan
Jacob Bresciani- Ohio State
Christian Chirico- West Virginia
Jacob Davis- Eastern Michigan
Corey Decker- Unattached
Trace Engelkes- Northern Illinois
Drew Garcia- Finger Lakes WC
Tyler Goldman- Indiana Tech
Brandon Hill- Michigan
Jeff Holm- Michigan
#15 Shane Hughes- Columbia
John Keck- Navy
Andrew Konovalchik- Unattached
#12 Mark Martin- Ohio State
Bradley Metz- Findlay
Jacob Morrissey- Purdue
Kevin Nash- Michigan State
Nick Proctor- Michigan State
Ben Ralston- Michigan
Hunter Rollins- Central Michigan
Johnny Sebastian- Northwestern
Brandon Taylor- Kent State
#10 Cody Walters- Ohio
Chad Welch- Purdue
Dylan Zivcic- Lake Erie

Outlook
Three really solid 174's will do battle here and they all have an equal shot to win the tournament.  The favorite is 2013 All-American Cody Walters of Ohio U.  Walters was not quite as sharp last season as he was a season ago, but now back at 174 permanently, look for him to have more consistent results.  He's a particularly tough matchup because of his savvy on top- he can ride out almost anyone in the country.  

Nipping at his heels will be fellow Ohio native Mark Martin for tOSU.  Martin is very talented and has beaten some top-notch guys throughout his career, so he may be able to take out Walters.  

Another guy with upset ability is Columbia's Shane Hughes.  Hughes was a Midlands finalist last year before qualifying for his first NCAA tournament.  

The only other guy who has qualified for nationals in the weight is Chad Welch of Purdue.  Welch failed to qualify a year ago and will look to return to form with a strong start to the season.  

A true freshman to keep an eye on is Johnny Sebastian of Northwestern.  Sebastian was ranked #1 in the country as a high school senior, so he'll be eager to see where he stands among the collegiate ranks.  

2014 Head-to-Heads
Baker over Taylor, 8-7 TB
Engelkes over Metz, 6-2
Hill over Morrissey, 7-6/12-5
Hughes over Zivcic, 12-4
Morrissey over Bresciani, Fall 3:25/Fall 1:16/Fall 1:53
Proctor over Ralston, 8-6
Ralston over Hill, 3-1
Walters over Davis, 4-0/5-0

Picks
1. Cody Walters
2. Mark Martin
3. Shane Hughes
4. Johnny Sebastian
5. Chad Welch
6. Jacob Davis
7. Ben Ralston
8. Nick Proctor

184

The Field
#12 Domenic Abounader- Michigan
Alec Bissel- Findlay
Warren Boord- West Virginia
Jacob Brown- Lake Erie
CJ Brucki- Central Michigan
Caleb Busson- Northern Illinois
Cory Campbell- Kent State
#9 Kenny Courts- Ohio State
Jake Cramer- Tiffin
Joey Davis- Notre Dame
Josh Fox- Ohio State
Erick Gomez- Lindsey Wilson
LJ Grayson- Indiana Tech
#31 Zack Hernandez- Columbia
Pat Kissel- Purdue
Bryan Loughlin- Northern Illinois
Ayoola Olapo- Michigan
#16 John Rizqallah- Michigan State
Jack Rozema- Ohio State
#22 Jakob Scheffel- West Virginia
Greg Thurston- West Virginia
Mike Vollant- Kent State
Trevor White- Kent State

Outlook
This should be a very tough weight class with five top-33 ranked guys.  However, I'm not picking any of them to win the tournament.  I've got Notre Dame's Joey Davis.  Davis is a 3x NCAA D2 National Champ and has yet to lose a match.  The MSU Open is usually the tournament where he reminds everyone how good he really is, so look for him to do the same this weekend.  

The next three in line are Big Ten rivals Abounader, Courts, and Rizqallah.  They were all very close last season, so they should produce some great matches this weekend.  Abounader beat Courts two of three last year, so I've got him making the finals, followed by Courts and Rizqallah.  

Jakob Scheffel of WVU could also play spoiler as he moves up a weight from 174.  He qualified for nationals last season and will be eager to make his presence felt at the new weight class.  

The final top-33 guy is Hernandez of Columbia, an NCAA Qualifier last year as well.  While I don't think he will be able to upset any of the previously mentioned guys, he should have little problem with the rest of the weight.  

2014 Head-to-Heads
Abounader over Hernandez, 8-0
Abounader over Busson, 3-2
Abounader over Rizqallah, 6-0 TB
Abounader over Courts, 9-4/7-0
Busson over Campbell, Fall 1:41
Courts over Abounader, 4-3
Courts over Rizqallah, Fall 3:09/4-3
Courts over Vollant, 5-3
Cramer over Fox, 3-1
Cramer over Vollant, 7-3
Davis over Cramer, 11-5
Fox over White, 3-1
Gomez over Grayson, 13-1
Olapo over Rozema, 3-2
Rizqallah over Hernandez, 3-0
Vollant over Brucki, 2:25

Picks
1. Joey Davis
2. Domenic Abounader
3. Kenny Courts
4. John Rizqallah
5. Jakob Scheffel
6. Zack Hernandez
7. Caleb Busson
8. Pat Kissel

197

The Field
#9 Braden Atwood- Purdue
Bryson Begley- West Virginia
Jacob Berkowitz- Northwestern
Joseph Brandt- Ashland
Gage Harrah- Notre Dame
Chris Heald- Michigan
Troy Hembury- Columbia
#13 Max Huntley- Michigan
Matt Idelson- Columbia
Garrett Linton- Notre Dame
#28 Nick McDiarmid- Michigan State
Kyle O'Donnell- Ohio
Matthew O'Hara- Ohio State
#19 Paul Rands- Navy
#26 Shawn Scott- Northern Illinois
Jake Smith- West Virginia
Kyle Snyder- Ohio State
Jimmy Szep- Central Michigan
Craig Thomas- Ohio State
#8 Phil Wellington- Ohio
Mike Woulfe- Navy

Outlook
Arguably the toughest weight in the tournament, 197 could have 1/3 of its competitors ranked by next week.  That's deep.  Like 184, I'm taking an unranked guy, Kyle Snyder, to win it all.  He's unranked simply for the fact that he's a true freshman, but he is the real deal.  Snyder will face some tough dudes on Sunday but look for him to emerge with a title when it's all said and done.  

Leading the charge to knock him off will be Ohio U's Phil Wellington.  Wellington has experience welcoming young bucks to the college level, as he gave last year's true freshman sensation J'Den Cox his first collegiate loss.  If anyone has the ability to take down Snyder this weekend, it's likely him.  

Braden Atwood is another top-10 guy entered and he's a monster too.  He's a monster on top and I'm sure that he'll be looking for to avenging his loss to Wellington from a year ago if he gets the opportunity.  

Max Huntley returns to action after getting injured early in 2014.  Huntley knows how to win close matches and has been able to compete with the best guys over his career.  

The other national qualifier entered is Paul Rands.  Rands made his first nationals appearance last season and is a strong 197 who keeps good position and is hard to score on, so he could be a tough matchup for many.  

I think the darkhorse in this weight is NIU's Shawn Scott.  Scott finished 3rd in the MAC (behind Cox and Wellington) last season and just missed out on a Wild Card.  He should be ready to continue his progress this weekend and don't be shocked if he knocks off one or more guys ranked ahead of him.  

2014 Head-to-Heads
Atwood over Heald, 4-1/5-2/Fall 4:22/Fall 6:18/Fall 6:07
Atwood over Scott, Fall 2:18
Brandt over Begley, Fall 2:02
McDiarmid over Idelson, 4-2/9-5 SV
McDiarmid over Heald, 3-1
Scott over McDiarmid, 13-3
Scott over Heald, 10-3
Wellington over Atwood, 6-3
Wellington over Scott, 12-5/5-2

Picks
1. Kyle Snyder
2. Phil Wellington
3. Braden Atwood
4. Max Huntley
5. Shawn Scott
6. Paul Rands
7. Nick McDiarmid
8. Troy Hembury

285

The Field
Arthur Bunce- Northern Illinois
Kegan Clark-Sanchez- Indiana Tech
Jacob Cochrane- Northern Illinois
Colynn Cook- Navy
#5 Adam Coon- Michigan
Cole Dillman- Eastern Michigan
Nick Gajdzik- Harvard
Andrew Geers- Purdue
Garrett Grey- Tiffin
Payne Hayden- Michigan
Cody Hogston- Findlay
Gage Hutchison- Eastern Michigan
Luke Jones- Michigan State
Brendan Kahle- Navy
Tyler Kral- Purdue
Mimmo Lytle- Kent State
Chris Nash- Michigan State
Adam Robinson- Central Michigan
#23 Garrett Ryan- Columbia
Newton Smerchek- Central Michigan
#14 Nick Tavanello- Ohio State
#19 AJ Vizcarrondo- West Virginia
Bobby Zappitelli- Lake Erie

Outlook
A potential showdown between Coon and Tavanello should have fans intrigued for this weight class, as the two big men traded wins a year ago.  Both of them were a match from reaching All-American status so this should be a really good bout.  Tavanello has obviously been a tough matchup for Coon, but I think the Michigan sophomore takes home the title here.  

AJ Vizcarrondo is the only other wrestler who has qualified for NCAA's in the weight.  The WVU junior struggled early last season but came into his own late and mustered enough to make the national tournament.  Now that he knows how to wrestle like a heavyweight, look for him have a better opening weekend.  

A potential EMU-CMU rivalry brewing between Gage Hutchison and Newton Smerchek could also take place here.  Both are quality redshirt freshmen and could see each other many times over the next four seasons.  Hutchison won their first meeting last year, 4-3.  

Garrett Ryan of Columbia is the darkhorse of the weight.  Ryan was a FILA Junior Runner-Up in the spring, avenging an in-season loss to Smerchek.  His athleticism should carry him to a strong season, and look for him to have a good tournament at MSU.  

2014 Head-to-Heads
Bunce over Cochrane, 7-0
Bunce over Dillman, 3-0
Cook over Robinson, 3-2
Cook over Vizcarrondo, 3-1
Cook over Lytle, 9-4
Coon over Lytle, 2-0
Coon over Robinson, 9-2
Coon over Gajdzik, Fall 4:07
Coon over Tavanello, 3-2 TB
Grey over Vizcarrondo, 2-1
Hutchison over Cochrane, 6-4
Hutchison over Smerchek, 4-3
Hutchison over Nash, Fall 3:16
Lytle over Robinson, 3-1/2-1
Nash over Dillman, 4-0/7-1
Smerchek over Cochrane, 3-2
Smerchek over Ryan, Fall 1:15
Smerchek over Nash, Fall 1:30
Tavanello over Lytle, 3-1
Tavanello over Coon, 6-5

Picks
1. Adam Coon
2. Nick Tavanello
3. Garrett Ryan
4. AJ Vizcarrondo
5. Gage Hutchison
6. Newton Smerchek
7. Luke Jones
8. Colynn Cook

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