It is tournament time. The Big Tens will be in Ann Arbor, Michigan this Saturday and Sunday, March 4-5. It is a tradition for this tournament to have great if not amazing competition. Wrestling fans are in for a great weekend of entertainment from the Big Tens.
The Big Ten was awarded 88 of the 284 automatic qualifiers to the 2023 NCAA National Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma on March 16-18. There will also be 46 at-large bids. Each of the ten weight classes at Nationals will have 33 wrestlers seeded out 1-33.
I like to break it down weight by weight for my preview.
Iowa faced eight Big Ten teams in the regular season. I have listed the results of those matches. I also listed the Big Ten Pre-Seeds and where the wrestlers are ranked nationally by InterMat.
A review of each weight will be in upcoming blogs to be released later this week.
125
The depth at 125 is impressive with seven of the top ten wrestlers in the country. There are 10 wrestles ranked in the top 17 in the country but the Big Ten only has nine qualifiers. That means at least one nationally ranked wrestler will have to depend on one of the four At-Large bids to just qualify for the NCAA’s. Not a concern for Hawk fans.
Big Ten Pre-Seed/InterMat Ranking
125 lbs. (9 NCAA Qualifiers)
- Spencer Lee (IOWA) – #1
- Liam Cronin (NEB) – #3
- Matt Ramos (PUR) – #4
- Eric Barnett (WIS) – #5
- Patrick McKee (MINN) – #6
- Michael DeAugustino (NU) – #9
- Malik Heinselman (OSU) – #10
- Braxton Brown (MD) – #15
- Dean Peterson (RU) – #16
- Jack Medley (MICH) – #17
- Gary Steen (PSU)
- Tristan Lujan (MSU)
- Jacob Moran (IND)
- Maximo Renteria (ILL)
Spencer Lee vs. Big Ten opponents this season
Maximo Renteria (Illinois) W-Pin, 2:22
#9 Matt Ramos (Purdue) W-Pin, 2:54
#3 Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) W-Pin, 2:01
#7 Liam Cronin (Nebraska) W-Pin, 0:38
#6 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) W-Pin, 4:38
Marco Vespa (Penn State) W-TF 18-2 (Vespa not competing at Big Tens)
#6 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) W-D 7-1
#14 Jack Medley (Michigan) W-MD 11-2
133
The Big Ten has nine automatic qualifiers at 133 and Brody Teske is at #8 in the Pre-Seeds. There are 5 At-Large bids at 133.
Teske was 3-1 vs. Big Ten opponents in the regular season that are in his bracket this weekend.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog I like where Brody Teske is at and where he is going. His conditioning and pace will be a factor in this incredibly tough two-day tournament. This guy is hungry and I like his chances to not only place above his seed but above his seed quite a bit.
The longer the tournament goes the less Big Ten opponents are going to want to face Teske. That is good news for Iowa.
Big Ten Pre-Seed/InterMat Ranking
133 lbs. (9 NCAA Qualifiers)
- Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) – #1
- Jesse Mendez (OSU) – #8
- Lucas Byrd (ILL) – #9
- Chris Cannon (NU) – #12
- Dylan Ragusin (MICH) – #11
- Aaron Nagao (MINN) – #13
- Joe Heilmann (RU) – #15
- Brody Teske (IOWA) – #18
- RayVon Foley (MSU) – #21
- Taylor LaMont (WIS) – #32
- Henry Porter (IND) – #20
- Kyle Burwick (NEB) –
- Dustin Norris (PUR)
- Jackson Cockrell (MD)
Brody Teske vs. Big Ten opponents this season
Dustin Norris (Purdue) W-MD 16-4
Kyle Burwich (Nebraska) W-D 5-2
#28 Taylor LaMont (Wisconsin) W-D 4-0
#1 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) L-Pin, 6:49
Jake Gliva (Minnesota) W-D 4-3 (Gliva not competing at Big Tens)
Wilfred Tanefeu (Michigan) W-TF 19-3 (Tanefeu not competing at Big Tens)
Cullan Schriever vs. Big Ten opponents this season
#8 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) L-Pin, 2:59
#10 Chris Cannon (Northwestern) L-D 4-1
141
When you have the #2,4,6, and 7 ranked wrestlers in the country at a weight you know we are in for some great wrestling. Eleven wrestlers at 141 are ranked in the top 31 in the country and there are nine automatic bids to Nationals in play. There are 4 At-Large bids at 141.
Woods has definitely earned the top seed here by going 6-0 vs. Big Ten opponents this season. Woods defeated the #4 pre-seed (and #6 in the country) Tal Shahar of Northwestern by a 17-2 tech fall in the dual meet. A potential Bartlett-Hardy semifinals will be a tough match.
The old saying of one match at a time seems like the thing to say about Woods. I am picking Woods to win the national title so Big Tens is the place to get started.
Big Ten Pre-Seed/InterMat Ranking
141 lbs. (9 NCAA Qualifiers)
- Real Woods (IOWA) – #2
- Beau Bartlett (PSU) – #4
- Brock Hardy (NEB) – #6
- Frankie Tal Shahar (NU) – #7
- Jakob Bergeland (MINN) – #14
- Danny Pucino (ILL) – #20
- Joseph Olivieri (RU) – #18
- Parker Filius (PUR) – #13
- Dylan D’Emilio (OSU) – #19
- Cole Mattin (MICH) – #28
- Joseph Zargo (WIS) – #31
- Jordan Hamdan (MSU)
- Cayden Rooks (IND)
- Kal Miller (MD)
Real Woods vs. Big Ten opponents this season
#6 Frankie Tal-Sharar (Northwestern) W-TF 17-2
#4 Brock Hardy (Nebraska) W-D 6-4
#26 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) W-D 9-2
#8 Beau Bartlett (Penn State) W-D 4-1
#15 Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) W-D 8-1
Pat Nolan (Michigan) W-MD 15-1
Additional results of Iowa vs. Big Ten opponents at 141
Drew Bennett
Danny Pucino (Illinois) L-MD 20-8
Cullan Schriever
#16 Parker Filius (Purdue) L-D 6-2
Big Ten Championships
Saturday, March 4
Session I – 9 AM
Session II
Consolations and Wrestlebacks – 4:30 PM
Semifinals – 6:30 PM
Sunday, March 5
Session III Consolation Semifinals and 7th place – Noon
Session IV 1st/3rd/5th place matches – 3:30 PM
*****All times listed are CST
It is great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
