141
1. Reece Humphrey
2. Nick Gallick
3. Kellen Russell
4. Jimmy Kennedy
5. Alex Krom
6. Chris Drouin
7. Joey Slaton
8. Chris Diaz
I said in the 133 update that I was going off of the assumption that Humphrey is definitely coming up to 41 and if that is what in fact happens I think he betters his finish last year by one spot. He was already a ginormous 133 pounder so I don't think he winds up having much trouble with the bigger guys at 141 and he's one of the quickest and most explosive guys pound for pound in the country too.
Gallick was my preseason pick last year to win it and while he had another solid year and improved on his finish from the year before he didn't quite make the leap like I thought he would. Regardless I think he continues his gradual improvement and winds up bettering his finish from last year and making the finals as a senior.
Russell was my preseason runner up last year. Wound up having another great regular season capped off by his second Big 10 Title then had another pretty rough go of things at NCAA's but still managed to snag 7th. He's won big matches and has beaten just about everyone available to beat at the weight the last two years, just a matter of him putting together that run at the big show.
Another guy who I'm working off the assumption that he's moving up is Kennedy. I've got him a little lower than I have Humphrey because Humphrey is a guy that uses a lot of explosive stuff to get his points while Kennedy is more of a brawler. Since Kennedy is more of a brawler I think he's going to face a little tougher adjustment up 8 pounds than Humphrey will.
Krom was a surprise last year as he crashed the semi finals before going down to Williams. Not the first time he's been that surprise guy either, made the Scuffle finals as Maryland's JV guy a few years back before losing a 1 pointer to Manny Rivera. He won't sneak up on people again this year but I think he comes and matches his placing from last year.
And I think he beats the same guy as last year to earn that placing too. Drouin was Round of 12 as a freshman before snagging an AA finish last year where he finished 6th losing in the 5th place match to Mr. Krom. He's a guy with a lot of good wins at this weight so he could definitely improve on this finish.
Here is a guy that I might be underrating a little bit. We didn't see much of Mr. Slaton last year between Daniel Dennis' emergence early and then the absolute beating that Slaton took from Fanthorpe. He's been in the finals before, now got 8 more pounds to carry and in that room with those coaches it is certainly conceivable to see him get back there.
Maybe that DE bias is shining through again here with this last pick. Diaz had good wins all over the place last year, he kind of vacillated between floating under the radar and then beating a few name guys right in a row to remind people that he was still around. Round of 12 last year before losing a tight one to Gallick.
Before I get into 133 I want to say that Reece Humphrey and Jimmy Kennedy won't be listed here. I'm going off the assumption that both of them will be 141 pounders next year.
133
1. Jayson Ness
2. Franklin Gomez
3. Andrew Hochstrasser
4. Jordan Oliver
5. Steve Bell
6. Daniel Dennis
7. Lou Ruggirello
8. Nick Fanthorpe
Anyone who has been a member of this board long enough should know that I'd be picking Ness here regardless of how he wound up finishing last year. However his finish last year does give me some more encouragement. The 8-2 and 14-6 wins that he had over Kennedy and Hochstrasser (avenging earlier losses) were awesome. Now that he's had a full season to adjust his style primarily from the feet in relation to getting his angles when he shoots his low shots I think he takes the weight.
This is of course not to diss on the guy that took the weight last year. However Ness and Gomez have wrestled twice in folkstyle during their careers and Ness has won both matches. Gomez is still obviously a huge threat though given that he is the returning champ. Great on the feet both offensively and defensively and then sneaky good on top as a rider and tilter.
Next is a guy that I'm sure surprised some people last year (save for me who picked him to AA before the season started) Hochstrasser had a fantastic year last year with a lot of big wins. With no Humphrey (who was one of the few guys Hochstrasser didn't beat last year) I think he improves on his placing from last year by one.
This one may be seen as a reach, but I don't care. I am a Jordan Oliver believer. Kid has had an absolutely ridiculous spring. WALKED through both Juniors and Universities. Absolutely fantastic on his feet and is with a coach that is only going to help him get better there. Only thing that remains to be seen is how good he is on the mat and I think that he's athletic enough to where that shouldn't be much of a problem.
Bell kind of hung around under the radar a little bit over the course of last year, his biggest win of the year was over Dennis. Came into NCAA's with a #12 seed and wound up pulling off an AA finish to cap off his junior year. I think he comes back and does it again.
Might be seen as a little low for Daniel Dennis especially given the fact that I don't believe he's ever lost to the two guys that I have projected to be in the finals. It is what it is though, I guess. If Dennis actually goes after attacks and doesn't just push guys around he could very easily win this weight hands down. The tendency that he has though to just push into guys submarines him it did in matches last year against Bell, Grey, and Humphrey specifically.
Another year of me predicting Ruggirello to get that elusive All American finish. As always, absolutely love the work that he does on top with his double arm bar series, the only question about him is whether or not he can find something he can rely on from the feet to win him matches against the best guys in the country.
Fanthorpe is an AA from two years ago and for a while was putting points on the board in absolute bunches last year most famously with what I'm sure was a very satisfying demolition of a sucked out Joey Slaton at CHA. Just didn't have it at the end last year at that brutal 133 pound weight. I've got him below Rugg because Rugg pinned him two years ago in what to my knowledge right now is the only time that they've wrestled.
I would imagine that Nickerson's season next year will shape out much like the one we saw this past year. Given that he had the humongous shoulder sling on in the last picture we saw of him I assume they start him off slow in order not to risk injury early on. Then once he comes back and gets his feet under him he's the best guy here.
Might surprise some to see me picking Esco over Sanders here but until we see Zach Sanders v. 2.0 I've got to pick Esco by virtue of his mat wrestling skills. Sanders nearly got him in the dual they had but then Esco came and took it to him two or three times in the post season.
Speaking of Mr. Sanders he's a guy that I'm really excited to see next year. Got a great motor and he's absolutely fantastic on his feet. He had some matches last year where he had some struggles on the mat and he was definitely one of the smaller 125's in the country. I think he makes progress in both areas and moves into the top 3 next year.
Precin is a guy that does everything good but doesn't really do anything especially great. He's got his dump that he hits from neutral against just about everyone, he's a good rider and can turn and he's good at getting off of the bottom. He and Esco always wrestle one another tough and one could probably argue that Precin should probably be placed over Esco. He did beat Sanders close in the one match that they wrestled last year but I think Sanders' progression moves him past him this coming year.
I've got Fio up this high primarily as a result of the assumed effect of Sammie the Bull much in the same vein of the huge improvements shown by Paul Donahoe and Chad Mendes in their first years in the room with Henson. Fio has been a guy that has progressed a lot anyway and that should only continue when he's in the room every day with a guy like Henson.
Sentes was a guy that I was high on all year last year especially after his match early in the year with Charlie Falck and was a guy that I was very happy to see AA. Great on top with his legs and a good scrambler from his feet. Beat Fio last year, but again I have Fio up above him because of the "Henson effect".
Robles had a great NCAA tournament last year after a kind of spotty regular season. At NCAA's he beat Falck and then majored Precin in consecutive matches. Then he would have tech'd Sanders had there not been a ridiculous stoppage. I've got to wonder though if guys will continue to scout him from the feet and then force him to pick top in matches.
Gotta go with the DE connection here with Garnett in the #8 spot. Had a ton of great wins last year during the regular season, and then wound up going 2-2 at NCAA's including beating eventual AA Nic Bedelyon in the first round.
Nicholson is a former AA from two years ago and nearly made it again last year, and has a solid shot of pulling it off again here. I'm just not high on him for whatever reason. Then Martinez has had a fantastic spring wrestling freestyle including a couple of wins over Sanders.
During the gold-medal finals of the World Team Trials in Council Bluffs, Iowa on May 30, USA Wrestling made a major announcement that has the Olympic sports community buzzing.
A new program, the Living the Dream Medal Fund, has been established which will substantially increase the financial rewards for U.S. wrestlers who win Olympic and World medals during the next four-year Olympic cycle.
Any U.S. wrestler who wins a gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England will receive a quarter-million dollars.
Silver medalists in London will earn $50,000 and bronze medalists in London will receive $25,000
The payout for a World Championships medal in 2009, 2010 and 2011 will be $50,000 for a gold, $25,000 for a silver and $15,000 for a bronze.
The Fund will be maintained as a restricted and segregated fund by USA Wrestling.* It will be overseen by a board that includes representatives of USA Wrestling as well as the group of stewards who have helped establish the Fund and will assist in financially underwriting it.
In addition to the support of the stewards, the funding will also come from a public fundraising program as well as from existing support from USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic Committee. Contributions to this Fund will only go directly to pay the awards to each athlete that achieves a spot on a World or Olympic podium.
Included among the stewards are all three Team Leaders for the U.S. wrestling programs: Mike Novogratz (freestyle), Dave Barry (Greco-Roman) and the family of Kim Martori-Wickey (women). Other initial stewards in the program include Rich Tavoso, Stan Dziedzic and Joe Alpert.
"This fund has the soul purpose of increasing the stipends our athletes get for winning a medal, for making it to the podium at the World Championships or Olympic Games," said Mike Novogratz during the announcement in Council Bluffs. "We thought about this as a way of showing our appreciation, and the wrestling community's appreciation, for the hard work, sacrifice and dedication that these young men and women go through."
USA Wrestling has set up a website for the Living the Dream Medal Fund, where wrestling supporters can make donations to the project. People have been asked to give donations from $5 to $5,000 to the fund.
The new CELA Website is on line ! On this website you could find all about wrestling in Europe, transferts, pictures et all news concerning wrestling...
I was recently watching some of Tedeevs matches and have noticed that he shoots his low singles much like John Smith but his head is on the outside....
Hard up for cash, NJ just upped the taxes on wine and liquor 25%, but not beer, among many other things, and....will now tax lottery winnings. Okay,...
Take a look behind the scenes at major High Schools, Colleges, Clubs, and Camps. Learn business operations, training, recruiting, and other day to day activities from 'Behind the Scenes'
D1CollegeWrestling.net released their third annual recruiting class rankings today (June 23), and at the head of the class were the Golden Gophers.
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