Here are my seed predictions. I tried to explain my work if you have any questions. Don't hate me on some of the Howard, Bartlett, Kerkvliet seeds but I just don't know how they get higher based on limited regular season (even more so than others).
Brackets
125 lbs. – 8 qualifiers
#1 Spencer Lee (IOWA) (4-0, 3-0 BIG): 1 CR, 1 WS
#2 Liam Cronin (NEB) (7-1, 4-1 BIG): 7 CR, 10 WS
#3 Malik Heinselman (OSU) (7-1, 6-1 BIG): 13 CR, 20 WS
#4 Dylan Ragusin (MICH) (4-1, 2-0 BIG): 12 CR, 15 WS
#5 Eric Barnett (WIS) (5-2, 2-2 BIG): 19 CR, 11 WS
#6 Patrick McKee (MINN) (6-3, 5-3 BIG): 10 CR, 18 WS
#7 Rayvon Foley (MSU) (4-3, 1-3 BIG): 14 CR, 7 WS
#8 Devin Schroder (PUR) (6-3, 3-3 BIG): 11 CR, 9 WS
#9 Michael DeAugustino (NW) (3-1, 1-1 BIG): 8 CR, 15 WS
#10 Justin Cardini (ILL) (2-6, 2-6 BIG): 16 CR, 34 WS
#11 Robbie Howard (PSU) (2-1, 1-1 BIG): 26 WS
#12 Brock Hudkins (IND) (0-2, 0-2 BIG): 20 CR, 33 WS
#13 Nic Aguilar (RUT) (0-4, 0-4 BIG): 29 CR, 41 WS
#14 Zach Spence (MD) (0-5, 0-3 BIG): 50 WS
Notes: Lee is the obvious #1. Cronin is #w with his only loss to Lee. He has only three wins against the big mashed-up tier but in three other duals he wrestled and the other team’s starters didn’t. Heinselman #3. He only lost 1-0 to Schroeder for his only defeat. He also wrestled against Michigan when they sent out McHenry. That is why he is ahead of Ragusin at #4. DeAustino, McKee, Schroder, Foley, Cardini, and Barnett are the next tier that will fill 5-10 as they have all beaten each other. McKee is 4-1 against this group so my initial thought was him fifth. However, he got destroyed by Barnett and Barnett is 5-2 with his only loss in the group being 3-1 versus Cardini. So Barnett is #5 and McKee follows at #6. I was between Foley and Schroder for #7/8. I went Foley #7 who I think is just coming on right now since he beat Schroder 10-4. Schroder follows at #8. DeAugustino has just one loss but missed two duals in this grouping so that hurt his case and he is #9. Cardini has the win against Barnett but is just 1-3 overall against this tier and 2-6 on the year for only overall losing record of the grouping so he will be my #10 seed. I think Howard is better than his seed but he is #11 to me with the only winning record among the bottom four. He just doesn’t have the win against any of the top 10. I went Hudkins at #12 if he comes back. He lost by just two to Cardini and Ragusin but missed duals and doesn’t have any wins. I think Moran would get seeded the same if he goes for Indiana. I will go Aguilar #13 since he does have the coaches rank but he is 0-4 on the year. Spence is #14.
133 lbs. – 8 qualifiers
#1 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) (6-0, 4-0 BIG): 1 CR, 3 WS
#2 Austin DeSanto (IOWA) (5-0, 3-0 BIG): 2 CR, 2 WS
#3 Sammy Alvarez (RUT) (3-0, 3-0 BIG): 4 CR, 5 WS
#4 Lucas Byrd (ILL) (7-1, 4-1 BIG): 13 CR, 22 WS
#5 Chris Cannon (NW) (5-0, 3-0 BIG): 14 CR, 12 WS
#6 Boo Dryden (MINN) (5-4, 3-4 BIG): 21 CR, 27 WS
#7 Jack Medley (MICH) (5-3, 2-0 BIG): 32 WS
#8 Jordan Decatour (OSU) (6-4, 4-4 BIG): 20 CR, 26 WS
#9 Kyle Burwick (WIS) (3-4, 1-4 BIG): 55 WS
#10 Jake Rundell (PUR) (3-4, 2-4 BIG): 36 WS
#11 Tucker Sjomeling (NEB) (3-3, 1-2 BIG): 33 WS
#12 Jordan Hamdan (MSU) (3-4, 2-3 BIG): 46 WS
#13 Kyle Luigs (IND) (1-6, 1-4 BIG): 51 WS
#14 Jackson Cockrell (MD) (0-8, 0-7 BIG): 71 WS
Notes: I just feel like Micic is out for some reason. I am not completely convinced that it won’t be Ragusin at this weight instead of Medley. Bravo-Young, DeSanto, Cannon, and Alvarez are all undefeated. Cannon missed the PSU dual so he is out for top spot. I will go with the coaches ranking and put Bravo-Young #1. He and DeSanto don’t have any common opponents and he has the most recent win. DeSanto #2, more dominant than Alvarez. #3 is between Alvarez, Byrd, and Cannon. I will go Alvarez #3 on coaches ranking. #4 is between Byrd and Cannon. Cannon is undefeated but he missed all the top duals, including Illinois where Byrd pinned the guy they sent out so Byrd is #4. Cannon comes in at #5 as he and Medley are the only undefeated people against the remaining field but Medley took a loss to Garcia of Indiana. Dryden is #6 as he defeated everybody below him. Decatour has a slightly better coaches rank but took a loss to Medley. Medley and Decatour for #7. Medley lost to Garcia of Indiana where I have Luigs starting but he did beat Decatour 6-4 and Decatour has the only coaches ranking on remaining on the board so they go #7 and #8 favoring Medley in head-to-head. Luigs still has losses to Hamdan and Rundell which is why he is not in the mix yet. I have Rundell at #9. Burwick and Rundell are the only undefeated people against the remaining field for #9. They are both 3-4 overall with Rundell at two wins against starters to just one for Burwick but Rundell didn’t wrestle in the WIS/PUR dual and Burwick defeated Cummings 8-0 so Burwick is #9. That eliminates the only remaining loss for Sjomeling of Nebraska who just entered the lineup. They both beat Hamdan (10-4 for Sjomeling and 5-1 for Rundell) as the only common opponent. I will give #10 to Rundell just because Nebraska was so late deciding a starter and has less body of work. Sjomeling follows at #11. He beat Hamdan and Thomsen (NEB) beat Indiana and Maryland in the dual. Hamdan is #12 as he has wins against both Luigs and Cockrell. Luigs pinned Cockrell so he is #13 and Cockrell at #14.
141 lbs. – 8 qualifiers
#1 Jaydin Eierman (IOWA) (5-0, 5-0 BIG): 1 CR, 1 WS
#2 Nick Lee (PSU) (6-0, 3-0 BIG): 2 CR, 3 WS
#3 Sebastian Rivera (RUT) (4-0, 3-0 BIG): 3 CR, 2 WS
#4 Chad Red (NEB) (8-1, 6-1 BIG): 5 CR, 4 WS
#5 Dylan Duncan (ILL) (4-2, 3-2 BIG): 13 CR, 16 WS
#6 Marcos Polanco (MINN) (5-4, 4-4 BIG): 20 CR, 29 WS
#7 Anthony Echemendia (OSU) (4-1, 2-1 BIG): 44 WS
#8 Drew Mattin (MICH) (3-3, 2-2 BIG): 19 CR, 21 WS
#9 Parker Filius (PUR) (3-5, 2-4 BIG): 28 CR, 34 WS
#10 Danny Bertoni (MD) (2-6, 1-5 BIG): 48 WS
#11 Cayden Rooks (IND) (2-6, 2-4 BIG): 45 WS
#12 Matt Santos (MSU) (3-2, 0-2 BIG): 49 WS
#13 Colin Valdiviez (NW) (2-5, 1-4 BIG): 69 WS
#14 Dominic Dentino (WIS) (0-7, 0-5 BIG): 59 WS
Notes: Lee, Eierman, and Rivera are all undefeated. I will just lean on the coaches ranking here and go Eierman #1 as he has no common opponents with either but did have the best win versus Red. Lee has the coaches ranking for #2 with Rivera to follow at #3. Red, Echemendia, and Mattin are all undefeated against the remaining field but Echemendia has missed too many duals and Mattin lost to D’Emilio. Duncan joins the undefeated group after the result to Red comes off. Duncan and Echemendia have only Eierman as a common opponent but too many missed duals continues to haunt Echemendia, plus Pucino the Illinois backup beat D’Emilio in a dual so I would assume Duncan does the same. Polanco becomes undefeated against remaining group. He and Echemendia are actually pretty close but he has wrestled all year and is slightly more dominant in common opponents to secure #6 seed. That frees up Filius to be undefeated against the remaining field but he took a loss to D’Emilio which I know isn’t the same as losing to Echemendia but it is the best I got so Echemendia is #7 and really his only loss is to Eierman. Filius and Mattin are now undefeated against the remaining field and have the only coaches rankings. The only common opponent is D’Emilio who beat Mattin 6-5 and D'Emilio won 12-4 vs. Filius. Mattin also has the edge in coaches ranking for the #8 seed. The leaves Filius and Bertoni unbeaten at the table. Filius has the coaches rankings and beat Rooks worse and lost closer to Polanco in the only common opponents. Bertoni is #10 as the only undefeated guy against the bottom five with a 6-1 win against Rooks. Rooks is #11 with wins against Santos and Valdiviez. Interesting that Rooks did lose to Enriquez (MSU) in extras but won the dual. Valdiviez has a 14-9 win over Dentino. Both lost close to Rooks in only common opponent. Santos at #12 just because he does have the winning record in limited action. Head-to-head dictates Valdiviez #13 and Dentino #14.
149 lbs. – 7 qualifiers
#1 Sammy Sasso (OSU) (9-0, 8-0 BIG): 1 CR, 2 WS
#2 Max Murin (IOWA) (4-1, 2-1 BIG): 5 CR, 5 WS
#3 Mike Carr (ILL) (5-2, 3-2 BIG): 8 CR, 14 WS
#4 Griffin Parriott (PUR) (4-0, 3-0 BIG): 9 CR, 24 WS
#5 Kanen Storr (MICH) (4-2, 1-2 BIG): 7 CR, 9 WS
#6 Yahya Thomas (NW) (6-2, 3-2 BIG): 11 CR, 18 WS
#7 Ridge Lovett (NEB) (5-0, 1-0 BIG): 21 WS
#8 Mike VanBrill (RUT) (1-3, 1-3 BIG): 21 CR, 29 WS
#9 Michael Blockhus (MINN) (5-4, 3-3 BIG): 26 CR, 23 WS
#10 Graham Rooks (IND) (2-2, 1-2 BIG): 17 CR, 26 WS
#11 Peyton Omania (MSU) (3-4, 1-4 BIG): 45 WS
#12 Beau Bartlett (PSU) (7-1, 1-1 BIG): 35 WS
#13 Drew Scharenbrock (WIS) (2-5, 0-4 BIG): 24 CR, 40 WS
#14 Hunter Baxter (MD) (1-7, 0-4 BIG): 68 WS
Notes: Sasso, Lovett, and Parriott are all undefeated but the later two in lighter work and Sasso has the top coaches ranking for #1 seed. Murin’s only loss is to Sasso and he beat Nebraska in the varsity dual while Lovett wrestled extra matches and Parriott did not wrestle at all that dual so Murin is #2. Carr now moves to undefeated against the field. He and Parriott are back-to-back in coaches rankings and have no common opponents but again Parriott missed this dual so Carr is #3. Coaches ranking backs that choice up. Purdue still has outstanding losses to NW and Minn. Storr has the loss to Omania who has two other losses on the board. I think Parriott/Storr end up 4/5. Parriott beat Omania so I will give him #4 as I think Storr falls a little from the weekend but does have a win against VanBrill, albeit in TB, so he is not a guarantee for this spot. Sixth through tenth is between Lovett, Thomas, Blockhus, Rooks, and Van Brill. Lovett is still undefeated but Thomas beat Hardy (NEB) in the dual while Blockhus lost to Hardy. I will go with Blockhus even though he has a 3-2 loss vs. Blockhus as Blockhus lost to Van Brill. Thomas has the strongest record overall. I will take Lovett off at #7 seed. Van Brill beat Blockus 10-5 but that was his only win of the year. Still he takes #8. Blockhus is #9 since he does have the win against Thomas. Rooks has a higher coaches ranking than the previous three but doesn’t have a win above him to justify higher and has wrestled in just four duals this year so he is #10. His best win is probably Verkleeran. Omania #11 with the win over Storr. He would be higher but took big losses to Blockhus, Lovett, and Parriott. I think Bartlett’s 7-1 record finally comes off here as Scharenbrock has a coaches ranking but lost to Gardner. If Bartlett gets a coaches ranking in the next poll that could signal him possibly being higher as his only loss is to #1 Sasso but he just doesn’t have a real high quality signature win. That leaves Baxter at 1-7 with his only win in extra matches against Minnesota.
157 lbs. – 8 qualifiers
#1 Ryan Deakin (NW) (3-0, 2-0 BIG): 2 WS
#2 Kaleb Young (IOWA) (3-0, 3-0 BIG): 4 CR, 7 WS
#3 Brady Berge (PSU) (5-0, 4-0 BIG): 9 CR, 9 WS
#4 Brayton Lee (MINN) (7-2, 6-2 BIG): 5 CR, 5 WS
#5 Kendall Coleman (PUR) (8-1, 5-1 BIG): 6 CR, 6 WS
#6 Will Lewan (MICH) (5-1, 4-1 BIG): 7 CR, 11 WS
#7 Chase Saldate (MSU) (4-3, 2-3 BIG): 22 CR, 25 WS
#8 Garret Model (WIS) (3-4, 3-4 BIG): 23 CR, 33 WS
#9 Robert Kanniard (RUT) (1-3, 1-3 BIG): 27 CR, 22 WS
#10 Elijah Cleary (OSU) (4-6, 2-6 BIG): 28 CR, 30 WS
#11 Caleb Licking (NEB) (3-4, 2-3 BIG): 45 WS
#12 Michael Doetsch (MD) (2-3, 0-2 BIG): 51 WS
#13 Matt Ortiz (IND) (1-4, 0-4 BIG): 58 WS
#14 Johnny Mologousis (ILL) (1-6, 0-5 BIG): 64 WS
Notes: Deakin, Young, and Berge are all undefeated at this weight. I think Deakin is #1 just based on past credentials as none of them have a ton of matches. Deakin is also healthy with a 12-0 win over Brayton Lee and TF vs. Model. I think Young is #2 as he and Berge don’t have any common opponents and Young has a top 5 win against Lee while Berge’s best is against seventh-ranked Lewan. Berge also missed last postseason so not as many returning credentials. Third seed between Lee and Berge is interesting. Lee has the better coaches ranking and two losses, but more returning credentials. Berge is undefeated and does have a major against Model who Lee beat 11-7. I will go with Berge as he beat everybody in front of him but I don’t feel confident about that. Lee and Lewan for fourth seed. No common opponents but Lee has the win against Coleman, a better coaches ranking (Lewan will fall slightly), and his losses are to the top two. Coleman and Lewan are also tight and the common opponents don’t really separate them. Coleman had the better coaches ranking already before Lewan’s loss so I will Coleman #5 and Lewan #6. Those quarterfinal matches almost make me wonder if they won’t want Berge/Coleman and Lewan/Lee in the quarterfinals just so they don’t repeat the regular season but you really can’t seed like that I guess. Model, Saldate, Kannaird are all undefeated against the remaining field. They all beat Cleary and Saldate secures #7 with the most convincing win against a ranked opponent and his overall winning record and other similar common opponents. Nothing in the results separates Model and Kanniard to me but 3-4 vs. 1-3 does plus the coaches rank leans Model for #8. Kanniard’s coaches rank and win over a ranked Cleary keeps him at #9 despite Licking defeating all remaining opponents. Clearly is #10 as he has the coaches ranking and is much more competitive against Licking’s common opponents. Licking is #11 with wins against Ortiz and Doetsch although he lost to Mayfield and they both won. I go head-to-head first plus the better overall record. Mologusis also lost to Mayfield to keep him below Licking. Ortiz and Doetsch have Licking and Mayfield as the only common opponents. Ortiz had the more dominant victory but he missed the dual against Maryland where Doetsch beat Kervin (who may go for Indiana) so Doetsch is #12. Oritz is #13, and Mologuisis #14.
165 lbs. – 8 qualifiers
#1 Alex Marinelli (IOWA) (2-0, 2-0 BIG): 2 CR, 1 WS
#2 Andrew Sparks (MINN) (8-1, 7-1 BIG): 15 CR, 11 WS
#3 Danny Braunagel (ILL) (6-0, 4-0 BIG): 6 CR, 15 WS
#4 Ethan Smith (OSU) (8-1, 7-1 BIG): 8 CR, 9 WS
#5 Cameron Amine (MICH) (5-1, 5-1 BIG): 19 CR, 17 WS
#6 Peyton Robb (NEB) (6-3, 4-3 BIG): 18 CR, 12 WS
#7 Joe Lee (PSU) (4-2, 3-2 BIG): 12 CR, 14 WS
#8 Gerrit Nijenhuis (PUR) (5-3, 2-3 BIG): 33 CR, 51 WS
#9 Nicholas South (IND) (3-5, 3-5 BIG): 25 CR, 29 WS
#10 Jacob Tucker (MSU) (3-4, 2-4 BIG): 21 WS
#11 Jonathan Spadafora (MD) (1-7, 1-7 BIG): 37 WS
#12 David Ferrante (NW) (1-6, 1-6 BIG): 60 WS
#13 Joshua Otto (WIS) (0-5, 0-5 BIG): 62 WS
#14 Brett Donner (RUT) (0-3, 0-3 BIG): 40 WS
Notes: Braunagel and Marinelli are both undefeated and you wonder how many matches you need before getting punished. However, Braunagel missed the Minnesota dual and Marinelli has a win against Sparks so Marinelli is #1. He will drop out of the coaches ranking this week though if that factors into anybody’s thinking. Sparks’ only loss is to Marinelli and Braunagel missed that dual so Sparks #2 seed for me even though Braunagel was a little more dominant against common opponents and I would expect him to win. Braunagel is no worse off as #3 seed and only undefeated guy against the remaining field. At 4/5 seeds, Smith and Robb are now undefeated against the remaining field but Smith has a top 10 coaches rank and just one loss to give him #4 seed. Amine and Robb for fifth seed and different common opponents favor each. They are back-to-back in coaches ranking with a slight edge to Robb but I will go Amine #5 because he has just the one loss and the highest ranked win over Joe Lee. Robb and Lee for sixth seed. Two common opponents favor Robb but nothing drastic. However, that is the best we have to put Robb at #6. Lee is #7 seed as the only remaining undefeated against field (minus Donner who is 0-3 on the year and 0-0 vs. the remaining field). For eight through ten, Nijenhuis pinned South, Tucker beat Nijenhaus 3-1, and South beat Tucker 5-0. Nijenhuis gets #8 seed as he has the pin, a winning record, and a coaches ranking. South's coaching record was better but that was before he got pinned by Nijenhuis. South has the last coaches ranking remaining and he beat Tucker so he is #9. Tucker follows at #10 seed with the best record remaining and the only undefeated against remaining field. Spadafora and Ferrante have the only other wins in the conference and Spadafora’s came 11-3 over Ferrante so he is #11 seed. Ferrante is #12 seed. Although he doesn’t have a win, Otto wrestled both Smith and Sparks to two point decisions in the only common opponents so he is #13. Donner #14.
174 lbs. – 8 qualifiers
#1 Mikey Labriola (NEB) (8-0, 5-0 BIG): 3 CR, 4 WS
#2 Michael Kemmerer (IOWA) (4-0, 4-0 BIG): 1 CR, 1 WS
#3 Carter Starocci (PSU) (6-1, 5-1 BIG): 6 CR, 5 WS
#4 Logan Massa (MICH) (5-1, 3-1 BIG): 2 CR, 2 WS
#5 Kaleb Romero (OSU) (5-2, 4-2 BIG): 4 CR, 6 WS
#6 Donnell Washington (IND) (6-2, 5-2 BIG): 8 CR, 13 WS
#7 Jackson Turley (RUT) (3-1, 2-0 BIG): 19 CR, 30 WS
#8 Jared Krattinger (WIS) (3-3, 3-3 BIG): 29 CR, 36 WS
#9 Jake Allar (MINN) (5-4, 4-4 BIG): 24 CR, 35 WS
#10 DJ Shannon (ILL) (2-4, 1-4 BIG): 32 CR, 37 WS
#11 Drew Hughes (MSU) (2-4, 2-4 BIG): 26 CR, 31 WS
#12 Emil Soehnlen (PUR) (2-7, 1-7 BIG): 34 WS
#13 Troy Fisher (NW) (1-7, 1-5 BIG): 48 WS
#14 Phillip Spadafora (MD) (1-7, 0-7 BIG): 46 WS
Notes: The precedent was set last year and there are rumblings about it. I don’t care so much about the dual disparity but Labriola won the dual vs. Iowa so he is #1 over Kemmerer to me. Kemmerer #2 as the top coaches ranking. The rest of the top 10 coaches rank goes for third through sixth. Starocci #3 with wins over Massa and Romero to make up for the loss to Washington. Massa is #4 with his loss coming in tiebreaks to Starocci. He also wrestled vs. Ohio State and won 14-2 against the backup. Romero and Washington is actually closer in common opponents than I thought but Washington was pinned by Massa and Romero does have the better coaches ranking. Turley is #7 seed with highest coaches ranking on the board. Both he and Krattinger are undefeated against remaining field but Turley teched Allar who Krattinger beat 5-3. Turley was also slightly better against Soehnlen. Sitting behind Grello really keeps Turley from going any higher. Krattinger is #8 with wins against Allar, Shannon, and Soehnlen, the first two make up two of the other three in the coaches rankings. Allar is now the only undefeated against the field for #9 seed. Allar beat Shannon and Hughes who are the coaches rankings remaining. Hughes and Shannon did not meet and have identical records and are undefeated against remaining wrestlers. All three common opponent results slighty favor Shannon so he is #10 seed despite coaches rankings. Hughes follows at #11 with two wins against remaining three. Head-to-head sorts out last three as Soehnlen beat Fisher 3-1 and Fisher beat Spadafora 5-4.
184 lbs. – 8 qualifiers
#1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) (6-0, 6-0 BIG): 2 CR, 1 WS
#2 Layne Malczewski (MSU) (6-1, 5-1 BIG): 8 CR, 15 WS
#3 Owen Webster (MINN) (5-2, 4-1 BIG): 9 CR, 21 WS
#4 Chris Weiler (WIS) (4-2, 4-2 BIG): 7 CR, 7 WS
#5 John Poznanski (RUT) (3-1, 2-1 BIG): 15 CR, 20 WS
#6 Nelson Brands (IOWA) (3-2, 2-2 BIG): 13 CR, 17 WS
#7 Taylor Venz (NEB) (4-2, 3-2 BIG): 11 CR, 5 WS
#8 Max Lyon (PUR) (4-4, 3-4 BIG): 16 CR, 18 WS
#9 Zach Braunagel (ILL) (4-4, 4-4 BIG): 12 CR, 19 WS
#10 Rocky Jordan (OSU) (4-5, 3-5 BIG): 17 CR, 16 WS
#11 Kyle Cochran (MD) (4-5, 1-5 BIG): 38 WS
#12 Jaden Bullock (MICH) (2-3, 1-2 BIG): 26 WS
#13 Jack Jessen (NW) (1-7, 1-4 BIG): 55 WS
#14 Drayton Harris (IND) (0-7, 0-6 BIG): 69 WS
Notes: Brooks is the obvious #1 seed as the only undefeated in the conference with the best rank. Second through 10 all have wins and losses amongst each other and are all ranked by the coaches. Of that group, Malczewski, Webster, Poznanski, and Weiler all have multiple wins and just one defeat so I lifted that grouping. Malczewski and Weiler both have no losses in that second tiebreak but Weiler also has no wins so MSU is #2. Webster is #3 seed with 6-4 win over Poznanski and he beat the Nebraska backup while Venz was out. Weiler is #4 over Poznaski as neither have wins in the group but Weiler has a much better coaches ranking. Poznanski follows at #5. Looking at the lower half of this tier, Venz and Brands have only winning records but Lyon is 2-1 against remaining group for only such winning record. Lyon also beat Brands and didn’t wrestle Venz but 3-4 against this total 2-10 group is too may losses so I will go Brands #6 as he was the only one remaining .500 or above against this entire group. Next up to me are Lyon and Venz. Lyon has a 3-4 record against the entire group which is the most wins. Venz is 1-1 against the group but has a 4-2 winning record overall. Venz also has the highest coaches ranking and was totally different after time off so he is #7 seed. The final three, Braunagel, Lyon, and Jordan are all 1-1 against each other. Lyon I am going to reward for his number of quality wins at #8. Braunagel and Jordan are similar but Braunagel has the coaches ranking for #9. Jordan is #10 with a 4-5 losing record. Of the bottom four, they all beat Harris so he is easily #14. Cochran wrestled for Maryland against both Northwestern and Michigan despite neither of his counterparts wrestling and won both so he is #11. Bullock is #12 as he teched Harris who Jessen beat just 3-2. Jessen #13.
197 lbs. – 6 qualifiers
#1 Myles Amine (MICH) (3-0, 3-0 BIG): 1 WS
#2 Eric Schultz (NEB) (8-0, 8-0 BIG): 1 CR, 7 WS
#3 Jacob Warner (IOWA) (4-1, 3-1 BIG): 2 CR, 3 WS
#4 Cameron Caffey (MSU) (5-2, 4-2 BIG): 6 CR, 4 WS
#5 Michael Beard (PSU) (3-1, 3-1 BIG): 12 WS
#6 Thomas Penola (PUR) (7-2, 6-2 BIG): 17 CR, 24 WS
#7 Lucas Davison (NW) (3-1, 2-1 BIG): 11 CR, 14 WS
#8 Matt Wrobleski (ILL) (5-3, 4-3 BIG): 22 CR, 38 WS
#9 Gavin Hoffman (OSU) (4-5, 2-5 BIG): 23 CR, 29 WS
#10 Billy Janzer (RUT) (2-2, 1-2 BIG): 25 CR, 23 WS
#11 Garrett Jowles (MINN) (3-6, 2-6 BIG): 45 WS
#12 Jaron Smith (MD) (1-6, 1-4 BIG): 34 WS
#13 Nick Willham (IND) (2-6, 0-6 BIG): 47 WS
#14 Andrew Salemme (WIS) (0-7, 0-6 BIG): 68 WS
Notes: Schultz and Amine are both undefeated. I was hesitant to give Amine the #1 on lack of activity but then I remembered the Caffey match in the final weekend so Amine is #1. Amine won 11-6 vs. Caffey and Schultz won 6-5. Beard’s only loss is to Amine so he beaten the rest of the field he competed against but also does not have a signature win as Schultz is #2 seed. That now also makes Caffey undefeated against the field but Warner has the #3 seed behind his second coaches ranking. He was slightly more dominant than Caffey in common opponents. Caffey comes in at #4 with a top 10 coaches ranking although just two wins against ranked opponents. Beard, Davison, and Penola for #5 seed. Davison has the coaches ranking and Beard will debut this week. Beard was more dominant versus the only common opponent in Smith 15-4 vs. 5-1 so I gave Beard the #5 seed as he also pinned Hoffman who is ranked. Davison has an argument for fifth as he wrestled the Penn State dual when Hoffman did not and won. However, Penola wrestled the NW dual when Davison did not and won. Beard just has it on strength of victories but I don't feel overly confident about that sticking. Penola is #6 because of his three ranked wins. Davison if he comes back will be the #7 for me. #8 Wrobleski is 4-0 against the remaining opponents as the only undefeated with a 4-2 win against ranked Hoffman. Hoffman follows at #9 with his only remaining loss now off the table. Janzer #10 with no more losses remaining and the only coaches rank outstanding. Jowles is #11 seed with wins against Smith and Salemme. For final three, Smith beat Willham head-to-head even though he lost to Davison of Michigan who Willham beat so I went head-to-head. Then Willham over Salemme for #13 and #14 as Wisconsin is looking for its first win at the weight.
285 lbs. – 7 qualifiers
#1 Gable Steveson (MINN) (9-0, 4-0 BIG): 1 CR, 1 WS
#2 Mason Parris (MICH) (6-0, 4-0 BIG): 2 CR, 2 WS
#3 Tony Cassioppi (IOWA) (4-1, 3-1 BIG): 3 CR, 4 WS
#4 Luke Luffman (ILL) (6-2, 4-2 BIG): 8 CR, 16 WS
#5 Christian Lance (NEB) (6-3, 4-3 BIG): 10 CR, 17 WS
#6 Trent Hillger (WIS) (3-2, 2-2 BIG): 11 CR, 7 WS
#7 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) (2-0, 1-0 BIG): 22 WS
#8 Tate Orndorff (OSU) (4-5, 4-4 BIG): 15 CR, 11 WS
#9 Christian Rebottaro (MSU) (1-4, 1-3 BIG): 50 WS
#10 Jared Florell (PUR) (1-1, 1-1 BIG): 52 WS
#11 Rudy Streck (IND) (1-5, 1-3 BIG): 56 WS
#12 Jack Heyob (NW) (1-4, 1-4 BIG): 60 WS
#13 Christian Colucci (RUT) (0-2, 0-2 BIG): 30 WS
#14 Garrett Kappes (MD) (0-5, 0-5 BIG): 69 WS
Notes: Steveson, Parris, Cassioppi are a pretty common sense top three. Luffman is #4 seed as he and Kerkvliet are the only undefeateds but Kerkvliet has only wrestled Maryland. That seed also follows coaches rankings. Lance is next up for #5 seed and undefeated against all remaining wrestlers. Hillger and Kerkvliet at #6. This is interesting because Nevills won against Wisconsin but wrestled Christensen. If he had wrestled Hillger and won, I think Kerkvliet goes here as I don’t think you can ignore the PSU losses vs. Nevills but that result doesn’t exist. So I think Kerkvliet gets #7 which is worse draw for him with Parris in the quarterfinals instead of Cassioppi. Orndorff was also undefeated at the spot but Nevills beat him so that is why I slotted Kerkvliet where I did. It was close but Orndorff has an overall losing record and still gets #8 seed. Ninth through 14 is a mess if this is it. They have four total wins among six wrestlers. Rebottaro has a more dominant win than Florell against Streck. Heyob is also undefeated againast the bottom six with his only such result being a 2-1 win against Kappes. I just went Rebottaro #9 because he can score points. Florell vs. Heyob who are now undefeated against the bottom five. Florell beat Streck 6-2 in the final dual of the regular season. They don’t have any common opponents but Florell can score points so he is #10. Heyob (won 2-1 vs. Kappes) and Streck (w, 3-1 (OT) vs. Kappes) both have the same opponent for their only win. I will go Heyob because he won in regulation. Indiana also beat Northwestern at HWT in the dual but that was Bullock vs. Devine so not much help there. Colucci of Rutgers would easily be the ninth seed I feel if he wrestled a full year but that was not the case and he has no wins in just two duals. If he doesn’t go, there is a pretty good chance that whoever Rutgers sends could end up ninth seed. Boone McDermott seems like the other choice for Rutgers and he beat Traub 2-0 in extra matches. Kappes #14.
Team Score (without bonus)
1. Iowa – 150
2. Penn State – 99
3. Michigan – 93.5
4. Nebraska – 89.5
5. Minnesota – 82.5
6. Ohio State – 66.5
7. Illinois – 61.5
8. Rutgers – 44
t-9. Northwestern – 42.5
t-9. Purdue – 42.5
11. Michigan State – 39.5
12. Wisconsin – 37.5
13. Indiana – 9.5
14. Maryland – 2
Penn State could make up ground with 125, 141, 149, and HWT being the big spots. Iowa gains would be at 133 and 184 if any and then bonus comes into play. Iowa is just going to be tough with three #1s, four #2s, and 2 #3s if I have it correct (unlikely). I have Brands at sixth and he could place anywhere from second place to 1-2 record. I would feel pretty confident that Howard, Bartlett, and Kerkvliet will all outplace where they currently are seeded just because of their limited chances during the shortened year.
