It is prediction time for the Big Tens. The season seemed to speed by us and now it gets for real. The Iowa Hawkeyes enter the Big Ten Wrestling Championships as the fourth ranked team in the country by most of the polls that I have seen. Penn State is number one and Ohio State is at number three. That is your first insight into just how tough the Big Ten really is. To be honest, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Assembly Hall on the campus of the University of Indiana will be rocking with the Big Tens being by far the best wrestling conference tournament in the country. As always, I am expecting a very entertaining Big Tens.
Let’s go through the weights:
125 Thomas Gilman, ranked number one, is looking to win the title and to dominate. After several matches where he actually looked his worse all year, Gilman looked very good in picking up a major decision over the eighth ranked Russell from Edinboro. Gilman does have revenge on his mind at the Big Tens. A possible matchup with fourth ranked Lizak of Minnesota in the semi-finals. We will never forget the amazing comeback at Minnesota. Also, Gilman got rode out the entire third period against third seed Lambert of Nebraska in the dual meet. Gilman will have revenge in mind should he meet either of these opponents, and there is a good chance he will. Second seed Suriano of Penn State may not wrestle due to an ankle injury. Gilman to win the Big Ten title and to look very good doing so.
133 Cory Clark is a gamer. Every year he turns it on for the tournament season. I absolutely love his seed at number three. Perfect. Clark has revenge on his mind against Montoya of Nebraska for a semi-final match. Clark will then face nationally number one ranked Tomasello of Ohio State, his old rival Richards from Illinois, or fifth seed Micic of Michigan. That is some serious competition. No way I can bet against Cory Clark in the tournament season. Clark to win the Big Ten title. No matter who wins this weight class at Big Tens, I will be picking Clark to win it all in St. Louis.
141 I am calling this the biggest tossup of any weight in the Big Ten. Ashnault of Rutgers is the clear number one, but I think you can pull names out of a hat for the others. They are that close. Again, I absolutely love the draw for the Hawks here. Topher Carton is seeded sixth and has a probable matchup with third seed Thorn of Minnesota in the quarter-finals. I remember that match at Minnesota where there was not any video available for a review that cost Carton the match. An added burr in the saddle for revenge. Let’s get that match and go from there. I am picking Carton to place third at 141 but to hit the national tournament with momentum. A finals appearance would be huge for the team race.
149 Brandon Sorensen looks to have a re-match with Micah Jordan of Ohio State in the semi-finals. That will be a big match that I am looking forward to. I am picking Sorensen to win another close one in the semis and to place second to Retherford of Penn State. This would be a great time to see Brandon “Scorensen” Sorensen appear and take it up a big notch.
157 Same scenario for Michael Kemerer in that he will have a tough re-match with Berger of Nebraska in the semi-finals. I think Kemerer wins by at least three points this time. In the finals, I want a wide open match and let the chips fall where they may. Nolf gets the nod, but not by much. Not to get the cart in front of the horse, but what I really want is a Nolf-Kemerer NCAA finals match. That is why I want a wide open match at Big Tens. Let’s see what does and does not work and set up for the NCAA’s.
165 Holy smokes, is this a tough weight class. Joey Gunther is seeded fifth at this weight for the Big Tens. The top four ranked wrestlers in the entire country are seeded ahead of him. That’s tough. For Gunther to come out of this with a fifth place finish and qualifying for nationals sounds real good to me.
174 Alex Meyer is on roll. I love what we have been seeing out of Meyer the last month or so. Meyer has a re-match with a revenge factor against Amine of Michigan in the quarter-finals. I look for Meyer to turn that one around this time. I am calling the upset in the semi-finals of Meyer over top seed Bo Jordan of Ohio State followed by a controversial one point loss to Hall of Penn State in the finals. I am already calling Meyer as the biggest dark horse of the NCAA tournament.
184 When the defending NCAA runner-up at 184 is setup to wrestle the defending 174 lbs. NCAA national champion at 184 at the Big Tens…in the quarter-finals! That, is a tough weight class. Could not have asked for a better seed for Sammy Brooks. I am picking Brooks to place second to Nickal of Penn State. I would gladly be wrong about this pick.
197 Getting Iowa freshman Cash Wilcke to qualify for the NCAA’s would be great. The Big Ten is taking the top seven at 197. Wilcke is seeded seventh. So, no room for error. I am picking Wilcke to place sixth and qualify for the NCAA’s.
Hwt The top five seeds are ranked in the top ten in the country and the Big Ten is only taking five Hwts to nationals. The lowest number of any weight in the Big Ten. Steven Holloway will have to pull some serious upsets to qualify for nationals. I am picking Holloway to not place, but it would be great to see him win two matches for himself and for the team race.
One fact about Iowa Wrestling that does not get mentioned nearly enough. Iowa enters the Big Ten tournament with four freshman in the lineup. Look how good Iowa is with four freshman. None of the four freshman (Kemerer-157, Gunther-165, Wilcke-197, Holloway-Hwt) are in the lighter weights where freshman wrestlers traditionally have more success. Also, Wilcke and Holloway are wrestling up a weight class to help the team. Only Kemerer was a real big recruit coming out of high school. I thought these point were worth mentioning. All of these points speak very well of the Iowa Wrestling program.
So, I have the Hawks with two Big Ten champs, four seconds, a third, a fifth, a sixth, and a DNP. Maybe a little optimistic, but very doable. Should the Hawks get nine healthy qualifiers to nationals with no one real complete crash at any one weight, I would be happy. Actually, I would be thrilled. As for the Big Ten team race, I believe my predictions should get the Hawks second place in the team race with Penn State in first and Ohio State at a close third. Soriano’s point total or lack there of at 125 could be a huge factor in the team race.
I have been saying all season that the prize is in St. Louis on March 16, 17, and 18. We all want to see Iowa Wrestling peak at Nationals. The Big Tens is the next step, and it is a huge step.
Let’s get ‘em in the middle.
It’s great to be an Iowa Wrestling fan.
Go Hawks!
Big Ten Wrestling Championships:
Session I – Saturday at 9 AM
Session II – Saturday at 5 PM
Session III – Sunday at 11 AM
Session IV – Sunday at 2 PM – on BTN live
*All times CST*
Video stream on www.bigten2go.com
Listen: 800 AM KXIC and Hawkeye All-Access http://www.hawkeyesports.com/watch/?Live=347
Live results: www.trackwretling.com
Finals televised live on BTN.
From NCAA.com: NCAA Qualifiers by Conference and weight.
*****After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 49 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 7.
