Hey MGoBlog community, I really enjoy writing wrestling previews (as time consuming as they may be) so I figured I would do a little write up pre-B1G tournament. I am hoping to do an NCAA tournament primer as well, but with all the redshirts this year it has kind of been a bleak outlook. Don’t get me wrong, there have been plenty of bright spots to the season, but compared to the previous two, this one has been a down year. So without further ado I am going to break down each weight class from an overall Big Ten standpoint and Michigan’s outlook afterwards. I will be using Flowrestling.com B1G rankings for reference and several caveats apply but we will get to those. Hope you enjoy!

 

125:

 

B1G: Spencer Lee has been on an absolute rampage following his loss via pinfall to Oklahoma State’s Nick Piccinnini. Lee has dominated the field in the B1G and the nation, and I doubt the 2x defending national champion will be denied. Lee has beaten just about all the top finishers with bonus points. As such he is the favorite to win the league title that eluded him last season. I personally have not seen the top contender within the B1G wrestle but following results superficially I am going to say Purdue’s Schroder is Lee’s finals opponent. Schroder is currently ranked 2nd in the B1G but did lose to Indiana’s Cronin. That match aside I really want to see who Schroder’s semi-finals opponent would be. DeAugustino (NW), Medley(Mich), and McKee (Minn) could easily “upset” Schroder whenever they meet but I am sticking with the Boilermaker.

 

Mich: Medley has really come into his own this season. He is a solid formidable wrestler and he competes with everyone he steps on the mat with. Medley even found a way to slow the Lee rampage to an 8-1 decision. So what he scored a point right? Right except...no one else did. To my knowledge in Big Ten Duals this year Spencer Lee has shutout the field. Does that mean Medley has contender potential? Maybe. The problem with Medley competing with everyone is each match seems to be a nail biter. Medley has lost to Cardani (Ill) and DeAugustino(NW) this year. I won’t put him in the finals but I will err on the Maize and Blue side of the line and say Medley takes 4th a B1G. Currently 5th that would put Medley on the same side as Lee, even with his current hot streak I think 4th is his ceiling. Very Impressive for Mr. Medley, being that I tabbed him a “break glass in case of emergency” in my season preview. 

 

1. Lee 

2. Schroder

3. McKee

4. Medley

 

133:

 

B1G: As if the B1G was not difficult enough last season, 2018 NCAA Champion Seth Gross transferred into the field suiting up for Wisconsin this season. Michigan wrestling fans may remember his finals opponent from 2018 as he defeated our very own Stevan Miccic. Gross is the favorite here but he has been beaten this season by DeSanto (Iowa) and in pretty convincing fashion. DeSanto would be the number 1 contender if not for his injury default to Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) in their dual meet this year. If you did not see it, RBY locked up a near side cradle and was driving DeSanto to his back when DeSanto yelled out in pain stopping the match...twice. RBY in my opinion should be seeded second and would meet DeSanto again in the semi-finals. All that being said, we now come to the curious case of Mr. Rivera. Up a weight from last season Sebastian Rivera (NW) has missed large chunks of the season and has not competed in a B1G dual to my knowledge. Why is he in the discussion? Remember when I said Lee was denied a B1G title last season? Rivera was the competitor that handed him the loss, albeit in a controversial hands to the face review that only lasted a year in the rule book. Rivera has high placing potential but his lack of competition results casts a heavy shadow on how high he can climb at a new weight. I don’t feel comfortable putting him higher than 4th so that where I slot him in

 

Mich: Assad or Silva? Flip a coin. Assad is a senior and on his last go around but is injury prone and rumors are he missed weight for one of the duals this season. Doesn’t really scream confidence, especially given the field he would have to compete with. Silva on the other hand has had academic concerns alluded to by coach Bormet in a video interview back around December time. These concerns look to have kept Silva off the mat for some time as when we saw him last he didn’t look to have his gas tank properly calibrated. So who goes to the postseason? Assad wrestled more duals, but I believe Silva wrestles the postseason. Why? If I’m honest, I flipped a coin and it turned up Silva. Where does he fall in the B1G tournament? Probably low, I speculate he will be somewhere around 11th. Putting him on the bottom half with DeSanto and RBY. A good goal for him would be to be around 2-2 in the tournament, maybe get a shot at 8th place depending on how the AQ bids get dolled out.

1. Gross

2. Bravo-Young

3. DeSanto

4. Rivera

 

141: 

 

B1G: I feel like 125 and 133 each have heavy  respective favorites, but that is not the case at 141. Nick Lee (PSU) overtook the number one national ranking when he upended Luke Pletcher (OSU) in their dual last week but don’t be surprised if Pletcher avenges that loss in Piscataway. Pletcher and Lee both have good resumes and and both have high motor in your face styles that demoralize opponents with each passing second. These two are head and shoulders above the field in the B1G and may very well be a good distance above the national field. I do like Lee to win the NCAA title but I am going with an upset pick here and saying Pletcher wins a close decision in the B1G final. After these two though it gets hazy. Red (Neb) is more than likely the next best but he is a boom/bust type of wrestler. Moran (Wis) has a knack for coming out on top of 1 point thrillers. Aragona (Rut) is the up and comer and wrestling in his home gym. Not to mention our very own C. Mattin, which, speaking of…

 

Mich: Cole Mattin is Michigan’s 141 and I had serious doubts when I watched him wrestle for Delta (OH) High School. I did project a Mattin at as a possibility for this spot but I had figured that it would more likely be Drew (former starter at 125) rather than Cole. Cole has acquitted himself quite well as the day one starter for the Wolverines. He seems to be in just about every match that he wrestles, often coming out on the right end of close bouts. Mattin in this regard is very much like Wisconsin’s Moran, a good quality to have when you are a true freshmen in the B1G. As younger wrestlers progress, the hope is that they learn to close the door on these tight matches both earlier and with higher efficiency. For now, I call Mattin a “thief in the night” type of wrestler. Not highly ranked, not overpowering, he seems to lull you to sleep but then before you know it he’s up a point and riding time is building up and tick tick tick, steals a victory. I’m happy to see his great progression from high school and this is a testament to both the coaches as well as Mattin himself. Mattin is ranked 9th in the B1G right now and best case scenario I think he steals 5th place. 

1. Pletcher

2. Lee

3. Red

4. Murin

 

149:

 

This is a fun weight class to watch. 149 features many wrestlers at very different points in their careers. Top ranked Freshman Sammy Sasso (OSU) is a dynamic wrestler that has seized control of this weight within the league and at the national level (as most B1G wrestlers do). He is very quick, has a good gas tank and wrestles a technically sound match in all three aspects. He is a bonus point threat every time he's on the mat and that makes him dangerous. I have him as the favorite by a narrow margin over Pat Lugo (Iowa). The two wrestled in their dual this year with Sasso winning a tight match 2-1 in the first rideout session (2OT for the casual wrestling fan). Lugo, a Senior for the Hawkeyes is the most dangerous threat to Sasso as he brings the most complete set of defensive skills to the mat. Can he score against Sasso on his feet though? That is the major question Lugo will have to answer if he wants to down the stud freshmen currently in the lead position. After Sasso and Lugo, we have another dynamic Freshman and a solid upperclassmen with Lee (Minn) and Storr (Mich) respectively. Storr will get his own blurb so I will talk about Minnesota’s Brayton Lee for now. Lee has a win over Sasso at the Cliff Keen tournament (6-4) but did not wrestle Lugo in their teams dual, or Storr when Minnesota wrestled Michigan in late January. Lee would more than likely be on Lugo’s side of the bracket but seeding is not exactly clear with Lee missing key duals, and Storr coming out of Olympic Redshirt midway through the season. Due to his victory over Sasso I have to say Lee is a dangerous contender to make the B1G final. 

 

Mich: Kanen Storr is our man at 149, and as mentioned above he was intending to spend this year preparing for the Olympic trials. I am not sure if I believe the “I just needed to compete” argument as the direct reason he came out of this plan what with Yiani Diakamaholis, Zain Retherford and Jordan Oliver all being Americans that are Internationally relevant at his Olympic weight. Not a knock on Storr as those names are the cream of the crop and have won titles at the world level in recent years. Storr has looked solid in his return to collegiate wrestling, but understandably a step slow when you change style focus midway through the year. I really wanted to see Storr take on Brayton Lee in the Minnesota dual but the Gopher brain trust decided to sit both of their big horses (Steveson also sat) for what I am guessing is seeding purposes. With Lee wrestling the year and having the more complete resume, he will more than likely be seeded third behind Lugo and Sasso giving him a more clear path to the finals, leaving Storr fourth and on the same side with Sasso. Storr’s style does not match up well with Sasso but Storr definitely has a punchers chance. Anything less than 4th would be disappointing, and would more than likely give Storr a rough road at NCAA’s. I do think there is a reason Minnesota sat Lee in the dual though and that is due to Storr’s ability to slow the match down and frustrate opponents, especially Freshmen that are used to dictating the pace of a match. If seeds go as I project, Storr will likely have Moran (Wis) in the quarter-final. A match that was quite close in the dual a few short weeks ago.

1. Sasso

2. Lugo

3. Storr

4. Lee

 

157:

 

Making the turn to the back 5 weights, we see several great two horse races with big time implications. Starting at 157 we have Kaleb Young and Ryan Deakin. Deakin has the better wins this year, he has knocked off Hidlay (NC St.) and Carr (ISU) en route to a title. It was Young however winning a Midlands title in Deakin’s gym, but in a field without Deakin competing. Deakin is the man to beat here and I cannot see any scenario where he will be denied. Deakin and Young have not met this year to my knowledge but they do have a common opponent in Carr. A test that Deakin passed when Young could not. Young has faltered down the stretch, losing in the dual finale against Sheets (Ok St). These two are well above the rest of the field but it appears to me that Young may be at the wrong weight. It is this author's opinion that the weight cut may be sapping some of Young’s talent. Regardless, this is the world we live in and this is the weight he competes at. After Deakin and Young we come to two up and coming underclassmen. Kendall Coleman (Pur) and Will Lewan (Mich) round out the top four. Truth be told I do not know much about Coleman but I have seen Lewan wrestle several times and the young Wolverine leaves himself open to a lot of attacks. Whether the opponent converts or not is questionable as Lewan’s defense is quite good.

 

Mich: As stated above Lewan, much like Storr is rarely a threat for bonus points but comes equipped with excellent head and hands defense. Footwork....uhhhh check back later please. Lewan needs to move his feet more. Like a lot more. Ranked number 8 nationally by some metrics you may think this is being nitpicky and you are more than likely right. But the nitpicky details are huge this time of year. Lewan is a man that finds himself in a lot of close bouts but wins the lion's share of them. Problems occur when Lewan cannot slow the pace. Many opponents get to Lewan’s legs multiple times a match and in a tournament setting I am worried that his defense will succumb based on shear volume. This scenario is reminiscent of 2017 Michigan football defense. Really good but for the love of God can we not have them out there for 59 minutes a game. I do not know the Boilermaker in the field but he or Minnesota’s Thomas is the likely opponent Lewan will have when he wrestles for third place. He cannot keep up with Deakin’s pace and Young put it on him in the Iowa dual. Hopefully, Lewan gets more on the offensive come tournament time.

1. Deakin

2. Young

3. Coleman

4. Lewan

 

165:

 

B1G: If you follow wrestling at the college level you probably know Vincenzo Joseph (PSU). Joseph captured back to back titles in his Freshman and Sophomore seasons dethroning Illinois phenom Isaiah Martinez both times. In a way Joseph got Joseph’d in last year's NCAA finals when true Freshman Mekhi Lewis (VaTe) secured a 6 point cradle in the first period and eventually dethroned Joseph. What you may not know about Joseph is the fact that he has never once won a Big Ten title. Joseph has one more go around to get over the hump and in his way this year is the same Hawkeye that denied him last year, Alex Marinelli. Marinelli is well equipped to take Joseph out again in this years final but it was Joseph that earned the head to head victory in their dual. Two things are definitely going to happen when these two meet again in B1G final, Marinelli will go double unders/Joseph double overs and everyone will wait in anticipation to see who lands on top. Outside the finals match-up there are two quality darkhorse candidates that have finalist potential. Isaiah White (Neb) is long, athletic and is a pinning threat at all times, major questions about his gas tank keep him a few steps behind Joseph and Marinelli. Evan Wick (Wis) is possibly the best top position wrestler in the NCAA and alters the course of matches as many opponents do not elect to choose bottom against Wick. Long and rangey, Wick is a gifted leg rider with a devastating cradle. Wick usually is solid start to finish but may be losing a little bit of his late match polish. In the Nebraska-Michigan dual, Meisinger (Mich) mounted a strong comeback in the third and made his way back to a 6-5 split before giving way. I think White is peaking at the right time and looked to be the better wrestler in February. Will that be the case in March?

 

Mich: Tyler Meisinger will look to navigate the rough waters of 165 in the B1G for Michigan. Currently ranked 12th in the league I would honestly be surprised if Meisinger won a match in Piscataway. Being near the bottom of the rankings he will have someone of the Joseph/Marinelli/Wick/White vein out of the gate and may have an Ethan Smith (OSU) Drew Hughes (MSU) in his wrestle back. I hope Meisinger out does my projection but it is very hard to see him making waves in this deep of a pool.

1. Joesph

2. Marinelli

3. White

4. Wick

 

174:

 

B1G: I am highly anticipating the Kemerer-Hall rematch here at 174. Kemerer made a big statement when he downed Hall in their dual this season, taking down the former NCAA champ 3 times I believe. Kemerer was a 157 prior to making the jump up after losing a year to injury and the move has done wonders for him. He boasts the number 1 ranking in the nation and is undefeated to this point in the season. Hall is on his last go around and as much as it never gets old hearing about his 6 high school state championships (Sarcasm), he has only collected 1 national championship when he ascended to the title as a Freshman. The past two seasons Hall has faltered when trying to crack the Valencia (ASU) code. With Valencia up at 184 Kemerer is the main foe as Hall attempts to collect as much hardware as possible. I think Hall gets it done in the RAC, as he has yet to lose at the B1G tournament. It also will make for an interesting rubber match if they should meet again at the NCAA tournament. Outside the top two Kaleb Romero (OSU) looks to have found his footing in the college wrestling ranks. Though he is younger and ranked behind Lydy (Pur) I like Romero to outdo his ranking and pull a few upsets. Labriola (Neb) is also very skilled and accustomed to the big stage as an underclassman. I would say the top two are pretty set, 3-5 is a toss up pending seeding and health.

1. Hall

2. Kemerer

3. Romero

4. Labriola

 

184:

 

B1G: Oh my goodness enough with the Hawkeye vs. Nittany Lion finals matches! Well maybe I will get my wish, maybe. This year’s 184 class is wide open. Not because it lacks skill, but because it lacks experience. Of the top 7 ranked wrestlers in the Big Ten, only one is an upperclassmen and that would be Mr. Taylor Venz (Neb) currently sitting at 5th in the league. The lead man here is Aaron Brooks (PSU) a very nimble young wrestler with excellent match management. Brooks has really good body control and I believe his international career has aided him in this regard. The lone blemish on his record came at the hands of Venz by way of an 8-5 decision, and I would say pretty much everyone 1-5 could be crowned champion at this year's tournament. If the seeds go to chalk as they are today, Brooks would be the top seed and would be on the same half as both Venz as well as Jordan (OSU), which...ouch that's rough. The Michigan fan in me hates to write this, but I am picking Caffey (MSU) to win 184. The vicious fro is an opponent no one wants to see in March, coupled with the fact that his half would contain Assad (Iowa) whom he has already beat and Janzer (Rut), I like his chances a lot better than Brooks.

 

Mich: Sighhh. I’m sure he is a nice guy but Jelani Emberee just seems to be missing something. In my season preview I alluded to the fact that there may be a domino effect bump next season with Cam Amine entering at 165, Massa bumping to 174 (Where Kemerer and Hall would be gone) and Myles Amine bumping to 184 (where Valencia will have exhausted eligibility). Emberee could bump to 197 in this scenario but I’ll eat a le...nevermind I know this board, I’ll be quite surprised if Gaige Garcia is not comfortably positioned  in the 197 slot next season at some point. Emberee is slow on his feet, has little to zero sense of urgency, not a great gas tank, and just seems out of place in the B1G. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Emberee beat Caffey this year but that was at an open tournament in double OT at the very beginning of the season. Their trajectories have gone in starkly different directions since that meeting. Maybe he is/was injured but this league is as unforgiving as the sport itself. It’s getting late early for Mr. Emberee. Much like the previous two weights, a good goal would be to win a match at the tournament this year. Emberee may be ahead of that, but I’d be shocked if he ended up any better than 2-2.

1. Caffey

2. Venz

3. Brooks

4. Assad

 

197:

 

B1G: 197 has been a fairly boring weight class in the B1G both this year and last. Last year one of the most dominant wrestlers in recent history (Bo Nickal) steam rolled the field to his third national title. This season Kollin Moore has been the wire to wire #1 ranked wrestler in the nation, he has an undefeated record at 24-0 and has beaten the field pretty decisively each time he has faced them. The challengers at this weight class are all at least two steps behind Moore, with the most dangerous likely being either Warner (Iowa) or Schultz (Neb). Both have solid resumes and wrestle tough schedules, but neither is up to the task of downing Moore. Schultz lost 6-2 last time they met and while that's not a beating, it also shows me Schultz has yet to score an offensive point on Moore this season. Warner did not wrestle in the Iowa-OSU team dual subbing out for Wilcke, possibly for seeding reasons but I doubt it does much as Schultz will likely be the 2 seed and Warner the 3. Even if those seeds are reversed they would be on the same half of the bracket. Brunner (Pur), Davison (Nor) and Rasheed (PSU) round out the top 6 but Brunner and Davison will likely be on the same side as Moore and Moore has beaten both handily this season. Rasheed has only wrestled a partial season and was a back up to start the season before injuries pulled him back into the line up. Rasheed looks to be giving up a lot of strength with his move up in weight but will be on the right side of the bracket to have a shot at the finals. Being in a math related field I briefly studied combinatorics in my undergrad years. At the risk of letting my inner nerd out, it is a fascinating area of study that looks at possibilities of outcomes through combinations. There is an outcome that sees Rasheed surging to the finals taking out Warner and Schultz along the way. As unlikely as it sounds, I am going to run with it. Probably look stupid when Rasheed drops an early round bout, but hey thats life as a prognosticator. 

 

Mich: Jackson Striggow is on his final tour of his NCAA career. Sitting at 8th in the current standings, Jackson would see Moore in match number two for him if he wins his opening round match up, and being that it is likely against Maryland and Maryland having a wrestling team only by name I like his chances. Side note: Maryland in Wrestling is like Rutgers in football, but worse since joining the conference I don’t believe they have won a single dual against a  conference foe. They do have some decent individuals though. I think Striggow goes 2-3 getting one of those extra exhibition matches for AQ spots. I think Striggow is seeded exactly where he ends up. The 197 spot has been lacking the past few seasons, and whether that was just strength of the conference or other circumstances Striggow has struggled and this season is no different. I hope he goes out with a B1G podium spot and a national qualifier, both spots that eluded him last season.

1. Moore

2. Rasheed

3. Schultz

4. Warner

 

285

 

B1G: Hey you made it! Or you skipped all the way down here to hear me talk about Mason Parris which, that’s ok too, he is the main attraction for the Wolverines this season and for good reason. Parris is undefeated on the year, racking up several bonus point victories including a large number of pins. Parris has put on the necessary weight to compete as a heavyweight, a quality that he did not have last season which cost him All-American honors in my opinion. He moves well, creates good angles for his offense and finishes with a good barrel roll when his shot does get stopped. The one test Parris has yet to pass lies ahead of him in Gable Steveson (Minn). Steveson is the favorite after two dominant years on the mat up to this point. Steveson is a returning All-American and Big Ten runner-up to last year’s champ Anthony Cassar (PSU). Cassar was granted a ludicrous 6th year of eligibility this season but was lost to injury around Christmas break, so I guess that's a mute point. Steveson is a big bodied, athletic, dynamo. His body control may be the difference in this match-up, which should have already occured in the dual. Speaking of that dual, Steveson sat. Again, I speculate that was for seeding purposes but regardless, Parris is at least in the Minnesota coaching staffs’ heads otherwise why not have Steveson wrestle the dual? Crazy things happen when coaches strategize for seeding and in a way it encourages cowardly acts in order to achieve a more direct path to the championship. Steveson will be the top seed and Parris the 2 seed, more than likely this is already set in stone. Other challengers are not completely out of the realm of catching the top two contenders for this weight. Cassioppi (Iowa) will likely be Parris’ semi-final opponent and is no slouch. Parris pinned Cassioppi in their dual but I don’t think that will happen again. I do think Parris will take him down at least three times and add an escape as well as a riding point for a pretty dominant decision. Hilger (Wis) will be on Steveson’s side in this scenario and I am pretty happy about that. Hilger wrestled a really close match with Parris when the two met in their dual a few weeks back, mainly asserting his defense. Hilger is about as big as they come at heavyweight, which poses more of a threat to Parris than it does Steveson. The only other heavyweight worth mentioning here would be Traub (OSU) who has really picked up steam with his late match, high motor victories. Traub has upset potential but as the 6 seed, that's for Cassioppi to worry about.

1. Steveson

2. Parris

3. Hilger

4. Cassioppi

 

Thanks for reading! Agree? Disagree? Did I miss someone? Drop a comment below and let me know what you think. Next year’s wrestling lineup is gearing up to be very special, so I am open to discuss that as well. Go Blue!