I don't see much about Missouri so here's another lineup preview. Hopefully they have a better schedule this year.
125 – Punke (Fr)
He went 13-6 his redshirt freshman year with no notable wins. Perhaps incoming freshmen Severado or Malik Johnson could also be in the mix here. Last year’s starter, McGhee, went 0-2 in the tournament.
133 – Erneste (Sr)
Came into last year’s tournament as the #5 seed (27-4 season record) but fell just short of the podium. He also qualified in 2017 going 2-2.
141 – Eierman (Jr)
A 2-time AA and the only wrestler that has beaten Yianni. Last year, entered the tournament as the #2 seed and finished 4th (32-3 season record). In 2017, he entered as the #8 seed and finished 5th.
149 – Leeth (So)<edit
In his first year as a starter, Leeth entered the tournament as the #3 seed and finished 6th (26-5 season record). With 149 clearing out quite a bit, Leeth has a very good shot at improving his placement this year.
Edit: I forgot about Ashnault and MJ coming back into 149. Talk about a wide open weight class up for grabs...
157 – Fortuna (Sr)
Missouri loses former finalist Lavallee who didn’t return to the podium last year, suffering the biggest upset of the 1st round (he was the #2 seed). Fortuna went 16-6 in open tournaments with his most significant win coming against Oklahoma starter Justin Thomas (who did not qualify for NCAAs). This might be another weight where one of Missouri’s incoming freshmen gets a shot.
165 – Flynn (Sr)
A transfer from West Virginia who greatly improved upon his 19-22 record there as a freshman starter. He qualified for the tournament for the first time last year and went 1-2 (25-9 season record).
174 – Lewis (Sr)
Lewis is finishing out a great career at Missouri. A 3-time AA, coming in 4th last year, 6th in 2017 (@165) and 4th in 2016 (@165).
184 – Wisman (Jr)
Missouri will have a new starter at this weight (Marriott went 1-2 in the tournament last year as the #15 seed). Wisman went 16-11 as the 174 starter in 2017.
197 – Koelling (So)
There will be another new starter here to replace 3-time AA Miklus who finished 8th last year (#6 seed). Koelling had to move up to Heavy midway last season to replace an injured Myers, going 1-6 as the starter (19-12 including open tournaments).
H – Myers (Jr)
Another past transfer from West Virginia, Myers qualified for the 2017 tournament and went 0-2 and had an injury shortened season last year.
Missouri returns 3 AAs and loses 2 former AAs. Leeth and Eierman look to have the best opportunity at improving their point totals from last year with both having a reasonable shot at being finalists. Erneste could also improve upon last year’s results but with 133 being so loaded, he could just as easily go 1-2. It will be difficult but even with several unproven starters combined with Lavallee and Miklus leaving, Missouri could still match or possibly improve upon last year’s results (6th place, 61.5 points) if Leeth, Eierman and Lewis get high enough finishes.
Edit: After doing some more team lineups, I'm downgrading my expectations for Missouri. There are several teams that will pass them this year.
125 – Punke (Fr)
He went 13-6 his redshirt freshman year with no notable wins. Perhaps incoming freshmen Severado or Malik Johnson could also be in the mix here. Last year’s starter, McGhee, went 0-2 in the tournament.
133 – Erneste (Sr)
Came into last year’s tournament as the #5 seed (27-4 season record) but fell just short of the podium. He also qualified in 2017 going 2-2.
141 – Eierman (Jr)
A 2-time AA and the only wrestler that has beaten Yianni. Last year, entered the tournament as the #2 seed and finished 4th (32-3 season record). In 2017, he entered as the #8 seed and finished 5th.
149 – Leeth (So)<edit
In his first year as a starter, Leeth entered the tournament as the #3 seed and finished 6th (26-5 season record). With 149 clearing out quite a bit, Leeth has a very good shot at improving his placement this year.
Edit: I forgot about Ashnault and MJ coming back into 149. Talk about a wide open weight class up for grabs...
157 – Fortuna (Sr)
Missouri loses former finalist Lavallee who didn’t return to the podium last year, suffering the biggest upset of the 1st round (he was the #2 seed). Fortuna went 16-6 in open tournaments with his most significant win coming against Oklahoma starter Justin Thomas (who did not qualify for NCAAs). This might be another weight where one of Missouri’s incoming freshmen gets a shot.
165 – Flynn (Sr)
A transfer from West Virginia who greatly improved upon his 19-22 record there as a freshman starter. He qualified for the tournament for the first time last year and went 1-2 (25-9 season record).
174 – Lewis (Sr)
Lewis is finishing out a great career at Missouri. A 3-time AA, coming in 4th last year, 6th in 2017 (@165) and 4th in 2016 (@165).
184 – Wisman (Jr)
Missouri will have a new starter at this weight (Marriott went 1-2 in the tournament last year as the #15 seed). Wisman went 16-11 as the 174 starter in 2017.
197 – Koelling (So)
There will be another new starter here to replace 3-time AA Miklus who finished 8th last year (#6 seed). Koelling had to move up to Heavy midway last season to replace an injured Myers, going 1-6 as the starter (19-12 including open tournaments).
H – Myers (Jr)
Another past transfer from West Virginia, Myers qualified for the 2017 tournament and went 0-2 and had an injury shortened season last year.
Missouri returns 3 AAs and loses 2 former AAs. Leeth and Eierman look to have the best opportunity at improving their point totals from last year with both having a reasonable shot at being finalists. Erneste could also improve upon last year’s results but with 133 being so loaded, he could just as easily go 1-2. It will be difficult but even with several unproven starters combined with Lavallee and Miklus leaving, Missouri could still match or possibly improve upon last year’s results (6th place, 61.5 points) if Leeth, Eierman and Lewis get high enough finishes.
Edit: After doing some more team lineups, I'm downgrading my expectations for Missouri. There are several teams that will pass them this year.
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