8 weights are down, 2 more to go and today we knock into 197 lbs.
Conference Champion Predictions
Big Ten – Max Dean (Penn State)
ACC – Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
Big 12 – AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma St)
PAC-12 – Kordell Norfleet (Arizona St)
EIWA – Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
MAC – Ben Smith (Cleveland St)
SoCon – Tyler Mousaw (VMI)
All-American Predictions
- Braxton Amos (Wisconsin)
- AJ Ferrari (Oklahoma St)
- Max Dean (Penn State)
- Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
- Jacob Warner (Iowa)
- Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
- Rocky Elam (Missouri)
- Kordell Norfleet (Arizona St)
Round of 12
- Cameron Caffey (Michigan St)
- Stephan Buchanan (Wyoming)
- Patrick Brucki (Michigan)
- Jake Woodley (Oklahoma)
Braxton Amos
Is me picking Braxton Amos at this weight as surprise to you? It really should not be as Braxton Amos was one of the most highly sought after recruits coming out of the Great state of West Virginia and won World medals in two different styles at the Junior World Championships. Yeah, Amos is a good wrestler. The popular pick here is AJ Ferrari to repeat and as much as I would love to see him repeat, it is not easy at all. I am not really sure what the preseason expectations are for Amos and any where I have looked while doing my research, shows that right now many are not talking about him yet. I think this is going to be Braxton Amos’s weight into the future and it starts this season. I see him facing Ferrari again as Ferrari is a very good wrestler and beating him in a tough match.
Round of 12
Matchups
- Nino Bonaccorsi vs Cameron Caffey
- Kordell Norfleet vs Stephan Buchanan
- Jacob Warner vs Patrick Brucki
- Rocky Elam vs Jake Woodley
The first matchup of the blood rounds is Bonaccorsi vs Caffey. Bonaccorsi will probably drop from the Quarterfinals and Caffey from a second round loss. I will take Bonaccorsi in this matchup. Next up is Norfleet vs Buchanan. Buchanan will be the one that drops from the Quarterfinals in this matchup and Norfleet will get upset early but will battle back. I will take Norfleet in this one after riding a couple consolation wins.
The next matchup is Warner vs Brucki, that could be a Big Ten tournament rematch. Warner will drop from the Quarterfinals and Brucki from an early round loss. I will take Warner in this one, but in a very close match. The final blood round match would be Elam vs Woodley in a possible Big 12 tournament rematch. Elam will drop from the Quarterfinals and Woodley from a Second-Round loss. I will take Elam in this one that will probably come down to the wire.
All-Americans
So, we will see Bonaccorsi vs Norfleet and Warner vs Elam for the chance to wrestle in the Consi-Semi’s. I will take Bonaccorsi over Norfleet and Warner over Elam in a tight one. For the Consi-Semi’s we could see Bonaccorsi vs Darmstadt and Warner vs Dean. I have Bonaccorsi being on a hot streak at this point of Saturday morning, and I will take him over Darmstadt. I will take Max Dean over Warner in this other Consi-Semi matchup as I think he will bounce back from a Semi-Final loss. Now, for seventh place we would see Norfleet vs Elam and I have Elam in a tight match. For fifth we would have Darmstadt vs Warner and I will take Warner in a very tight match. For third I have Dean vs Bonaccorsi, and I think the hot streak of Bonaccorsi will end as I think Dean will take third for Penn State.
Wrap-Up
This weight is deceptively deep as the big names are not there but there is a ton of talent at 197 lbs. I really like Braxton Amos coming into this season and I think he is being a little slept on because of AJ Ferrari being such a media sensation after winning last season’s NCAA title. Ferrari is a great wrestler no doubt and I think he has a really good shot at repeating this year, but I have to go with Amos. Max Dean transferring to Penn State was the massive, conference shaping moves of the offseason. Dean is an immediate plug in and be successful right away guy for the Nittany Lions. I think Dean has a good shot at being a NCAA finalist and I think seeding will play a factor into his success. If Dean is matched up against Ferrari, I would give him a better chance of winning than trying to beat Amos a second or third time in the same season.