We have previewed 4 weights so far and today will be our fifth weight preview and its an interesting weight.

Conference Championship Predictions

Big Ten – Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)
ACC – Austin O’Connor (North Carolina)
Big 12 – David Carr (Iowa State)
PAC-12 – Jacori Teemer (Arizona St)
EIWA – Quincy Monday (Princeton)
MAC – Justin Ruffin (SIU-Edwardsville)
SoCon – Cody Bond (App State)

All-American Predictions

1. Austin O’Connor (North Carolina)

2. David Carr (Iowa State)

3. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)

4. Jarrett Jacques (Missouri)

5. Quincy Monday (Princeton)

6. Jacori Teemer (Arizona St)

7. Josh Humphreys (Lehigh)

8. Andrew Cerniglia (Navy)

Round of 12

• Kaleb Young (Iowa)
• Peyton Robb (Nebraska)
• Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma St)
• Ed Scott (NC State)

Austin O’Connor

So, 157 lbs sees 2 returning National Champions and that is David Carr, who won the weight last season. The second is Austin O’Connor who won a national title at 149 lbs last season. It looks like O’Connor is on his way up to this weight which makes for one of the more intriguing finals in Detroit. O’Connor has been a pleasant surprise for the Tar Heels and burst on the scene in the 2019 NCAA Championships as a Redshirt Freshman, placing 3rd. I see this bracket kind of working out the same way it did last year where the 1 seed, who in this case could be O’Connor will have an easier path to the finals and the 2 and 3 seeds will be very difficult. I think we see the battle of NCAA Champions and I give the edge to O’Connor in this one. I think O’Connor, with a 3rd and a 1st at NCAA’s has proven himself as one of the nations best wrestlers and I think will be fresher in this finals compared to Carr.

Round of 12

Matchups:

Jarrett Jacques vs Kaleb Young
Josh Humphreys vs Peyton Robb
Andrew Cerniglia vs Wyatt Sheets
Quincy Monday vs Ed Scott

Let’s start off with Jacques vs Young in the blood round. This will be an important match for the team race, especially because I am not 100 percent sold on Penn State at 157 or who they go with, it could be a freshman. Anyways, Young will fall in the Second Round and Jacques drops from a Quarterfinal loss to Teemer. I think Jacques wins this one in Sudden Victory. Then to Humphreys vs Robb. I have Humphreys losing early on in the tournament and Robb losing in the Quarters to O’Connor. I actually give the edge to Humphreys in this one, because I think he will be hot on the backside and I think Robb will have a tough time bouncing back after the Quarterfinal loss.

Cerniglia vs Sheets is one of those interesting matchups because both of these wrestlers can make some noise on the topside. Sheets will lose early on in the tournament and will fight back, similarly to what he did last year, and I have Cerniglia as a surprise Quarterfinalist. I give Cerniglia the edge here, just because I think he takes that next step up from last year. Monday vs Scott might be the best blood round matchup at this weight. Monday makes his way to the Quarters but runs into Deakin and drops down, and Scott will lose early on and battle back. I think this is a very close matchup and I am not really sure if people know the potential of Ed Scott and how good he can be. I have to go with Monday in this one but I can easily see this going the other way.

All-Americans

So All-Americans are now set, now where does this all shake out? First, we have Jacques vs Humphreys and Cerniglia vs Monday for the chance to wrestle in the Consi-Semi’s. I give the edge to Jacques in the first matchup and give me Monday over Cerniglia. Now it is Monday vs Deakin and Teemer vs Jacques. Deakin will handle Monday fairly easily and I see Jacques upsetting Teemer in the Consi-Semi’s to wrestle for 3rd. For seventh we see Cerniglia vs Humphreys which could be a conference Semi-Final rematch and I think Humphreys gets it done. For 5th we see Monday vs Teemer and I give the edge to Monday. I think it will be tough for Teemer on Saturday morning to bounce back and I think Monday will be hot. For 3rd I have Jacques vs Deakin and I think Deakin will win this one by major decision.

Wrap-Up

Look, 157 is one of those weights that we have a good idea who could be in the finals. Barring upsets and injuries, I think it is safe to say that we will see a combination of Deakin, O’Connor, and Carr in the finals but the thing is 2 of those 3 will face each other in the Semi-Finals which is great for fans, but unfortunate for the wrestlers involved. The rest of 157 is still good but is separate from the top 3 and I think it is a clear divide at this point until someone steps up. Thanks for reading this article on 157 lbs, look out on Monday as I will resume these previews with 165 lbs.