One of the nation’s premier crossword puzzle solvers, Angela Olson Halsted also is a savant when it comes to college wrestling. Here is PuzzleGirl’s (yes, that’s her “nom de Internet”) outlook on the 2013 D1 Wrestling Championships, currently going on in Des Moines, Iowa. Speaking of Iowa, it is to be noted that Angela is a former Iowa resident (and a SLIGHT Iowa Hawkeyes fan).
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Returning champ Matt McDonough (Iowa) is seeded 3rd after losing twice to Jesse Delgado (No. 2 seed-Illinois) and once to Alan Waters (No. 1 seed-Missouri) this season. Matt has had a really rough year. My guess is that the weight cut was too much for him (he competed unattached at 133 his redshirt freshman season). If all it took was hard work and determination, he would definitely be the champ. Unfortunately for us Hawk fans, it takes more than that. Delgado is a really bad match up for McDonough and I don’t see Matt being able to make the adjustments necessary for a different outcome. He’s on the same side of the bracket as Delgado, so a semifinal matchup between the two looms (although McDonough has to make it past a tough Nahshon Garrett, the No. 6 seed from Cornell). I’m actually picking Delgado to win it all. Waters has a tough draw, and that assumes he can get through his first-round match against Minnesota’s unseeded David Thorn, which is not a given. Nico Megaludis (No. 4 seed-Penn State) has as good of a shot as anybody to make it to the finals. Unseeded wrestlers to keep an eye on include Sean Boyle of Michigan, who had a great Big Ten tournament and might find a way to the podium, and Christian Cullinan of Central Michigan, who was ranked in the top 10 most of the year but had a bad conference tournament.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Angela was spot on with her wariness of McDonough’s possible quarterfinal matchup: McDonough lost to Garrett this morning (Friday).
133
There’s not much reason to think Logan Stieber (Ohio State) won’t wrestle to his seed, which just happens to be No. 1. The only trouble he might come up against is Cody Brewer (No. 8 seed-Oklahoma), who has beaten Stieber in freestyle, or Chris Dardanes (No. 5 seed-Minnesota), who is one of the few people to have beaten Steiber in the last two years. To get to the finals, Dardanes would have to get past A.J. Schopp (No. 4 seed-Edinboro), who beat him at the All-Star Classic. But one thing Dardanes knows how to do is make adjustments after losses, so it wouldn’t be that much of a surprise for him to come out on top if those two meet up again. As for the number two spot, Tony Ramos (Iowa) has been getting tougher and tougher all year and I would hate to see him let up now. He has a 1-1 all-time record against Tyler Graff (No. 3 seed-Wisconsin), so his path to the finals isn’t guaranteed, but I would put my money on Tony. Until the finals. He’s closed the gap on Stieber over the course of the season, but I don’t think Stieber can be beat. Sigh.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The top four seeds have held serve and are all to the semifinals (L. Stieber vs. Schopp, Graff vs. Ramos).
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The finals are likely to be what you’d expect from the seeding: Hunter Stieber (No. 1 seed-Ohio State) vs. Kendric Maple (No. 2 seed-Oklahoma). Both of these guys are top-of-the-line and it’s really just going to depend on who has the better day. I’ll be watching to see how Maple does against Michael Mangrum (No. 3 seed-Oregon State) if they meet in the semis and how he holds up through each match — not sure he’s got quite the gas tank Stieber has. As far as unseeded guys, keep an eye on Steven Keith (Harvard) who’s had an up-and-down season, but once he drops down to the wrestlebacks, might find a path to the podium.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The top two seeds have advanced to the semifinals (H. Stieber and Maple), and they will take on the No. 4 seed Mitchell Port of Edinboro and the No. 6 seed Undrakhbayar Khishignyam of The Citadel, respectively. Khishignyam upset Mangrum in the quarters.
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Jordan Oliver (No. 1 seed-Oklahoma St) shouldn’t have any trouble making it to the finals, but there’s really no telling whom he’ll meet there. Donald Vinson (Binghamton) for the most part came out of nowhere to get the number 3 seed, and it wouldn’t be completely surprising if his pigtail match (think college basketball “play-in” game) against unseeded Ian Paddock (Ohio State) was one of the tournament’s early upsets. Seventh-seeded Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) has been known to peak at the right time, Dylan Ness (No. 6 seed-Minnesota) is always a wild card, and unseeded Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) could always pull off an upset against Andrew Alton (No. 11 seed-Penn State) and claw his way to the finals. If Ness makes it to the semis against Chamberlain (No. 2 seed-Boise State), that would be a tough match-up for him, but a win is not out of the realm of possibility. Iowa does not have a 149-pounder, so I’ll be moving on quickly to 157.
EDITOR’S NOTE: After Vinson won his pigtail match, he subsequently list his next mach to Kevin Tao of American. Houdashelt defeated Ness in the second round, then defeated Tao to make tonight’s semifinals. The top two seeds (Oliver, Chamberlain) are alive as well.
157
Derek St. John (No. 2 seed-Iowa) was ranked No. 1 all year until his dismal showing at the National Duals and Big Tens (and I’m using the Iowa definition of “dismal” here, which means he didn’t win). He’s on the opposite side of the bracket from the two guys who beat him: James Green (No. 4 seed-Nebraska) and Kyle Bradley (unseeded-Missouri).
Third-seeded Joseph Napoli (Lehigh) has been on a bit of a tear lately, so he could be a problem. I don’t really think Jason Welch (No. 1 seed-Northwestern) will make it to the finals, although he will likely be able to fight back to third in the wrestlebacks. If that is the case, St. John might have a chance to avenge his loss to Green. Or, who knows? Dylan Alton (No. 8 seed-Penn State) could just show up out of nowhere and make a run for it. He has a combined record of 6-1 against three of his likely opponents on his way to the finals, so it could happen! On the backside, keep an eye on unseeded Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota) and Josh Demas (Ohio State) — I wouldn’t be surprised if they found a way to AA this year.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The top two seeds, Welch and St. John, are both in the semifinals and are indeed on a collision course to a Big Ten final at 157.
165
This match is the one everybody is waiting for. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but they’re starting the finals at 174 specifically so this match will be the last of the tournament. This will be Kyle “Kid Dynamite” Dake (No. 1 seed-Cornell) vs. David “Magic Man” Taylor (No. 2 seed-Penn State). They’ve met twice this year. Once at the All-Star Classic (an exhibition match) and once at the Southern Scuffle (which “counts”). Dake won each match by one point. I respect both of these wrestlers a ton, but I’m pulling for Kyle just because, well, I don’t know. Just because. It’s hard for me to root for Penn State, even for a great guy like Taylor. Plus, Kyle posed for a picture with me in the airport after winning his first national title four years ago, so I have a soft spot for him. Anyway, all that to say that there were some iffy calls in their match at the Scuffle. I wanted Dake to win, but I hate that there was cloud over his victory. Like pretty much every wrestling fan in the country, I am hoping that both of these wrestlers open up and give us a show on Saturday night. There’s no way to over-emphasize how excited I am (we all are) about this match. If Dake wins, he will have won four national titles at four different weight classes, which has never been done before. Actually, he already cemented his place in the history books after he won his third title at three different weight classes last year, which had never been done before. But, man. This would really be huge. I mean, think about it. Dominating in four different weight classes over a four-year period? That’s mind-boggling.
Wait, there are other wrestlers in this weight class? Oh yeah. Tyler Caldwell (No. 4-Oklahoma State) is always fun to watch, especially this time of year when he seems to really pour it on. If he makes it to the semis (and he probably will), his match against Dake will be interesting, but the end result is totally predictable. And don’t count Patrick Graham (No. 6 seed-Oklahoma) out. As brutal as he is on top, he’s likely to wrestle above his seed.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Both Dake and Taylor are to the semifinals, and Dake will indeed wrestle Caldwell in the semifinals.
174
The field here at 174 is deep. And I mean DEEEEEP! Deep as in the second-seeded Matthew Brown (Penn State) will meet unseeded Todd Porter (Missouri) in the first round and will need to be worried because Porter gave him a run for his money earlier this year. Deep as in there’s virtually no chance Logan Storley (Minnesota) will end up sixth or worse, even though that’s his seed. Deep as in, if third-seeded Mike Evans (Iowa) could just manage to turn a close match into a win for once and would stop riding so d*** aggressively (you’re not in high school any more, Mike!), he could definitely be in the finals. Speaking of letting matches get too close, that’s what can cause trouble for No. 1 seed Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) too. Basically, anything can happen at 174 is what I’m saying.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Brown defeated Porter by major decision (10-1) in the first round, and has made it to the semifinals, where he will meet Storley (who eliminated Evans in the quarters). The other semifinal held to form, as top-seeded Perry of Oklahoma State will take on No. 4 Robert Kokesh of Nebraska.
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If you’re only going to watch one wrestler during this whole tournament, well, umm, please don’t do that because you’ll probably want it to be Kyle Dake!
But you really need to watch Ed Ruth (No. 1 seed-Penn State). Out of all the No. 1 seeds in the tournament, Ruth is the least likely to run into any trouble on his way to the top of the podium. And that’s saying a lot because the top five guys in this weight class haven’t lost to anybody but the other four top five guys all year. As Christian Pyles wrote over on Flowrestling.com: Ruth “can look disinterested as he completely dismantles you. … You know it’s coming, you’ve seen it many times, but unless you’re among the elite at this weight, you’re getting cross face cradled.”
Meanwhile, you also don’t want to miss Ben Bennett’s (No. 2 seed-Central Michigan) trip to his fourth AA finish or returning champ Steve Bosak’s (No. 4 seed-Cornell) matches. You’ll also want to see if Robert Hamlin (No. 3 seed-Lehigh), who has been known to give Ed Ruth a good fight, has recovered from his medical forfeit that forced him out of the EIWA Championships.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The top four seeds have held serve, and will meet in tonight’s semifinals.
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What you’re hoping for here is that the first and second seeds make it all the way to the finals. Dustin Kilgore (No. 1 seed-Kent State, 39-0) is brutal on top and Quentin Wright (No. 2 seed-Penn St, 27-0) — the only one with a real chance of threatening Dustin’s first-place finish — is incredible on the bottom. With any luck, this will be a high-scoring match. Neither one of these guys wrestles particularly tight and it should make for a really fun final. In any other year, Kilgore would be a shoo-in for this year’s Hodge Trophy (award given to the most outstanding college wrestler of the year). Unfortunately for Dustin — but fortunately for the fans — this isn’t any other year. Not surprisingly, Matthew Wilps (No. 3 seed-Pittsburgh) and Alfonso Hernandez (No. 4 seed-Wyoming) will also be in the hunt. Hernandez lost narrowly to Kilgore earlier this season (4-5, his only loss), and Wilps’s only two losses were to Kilgore and Wright. And, who knows? Maybe Richard Perry (unseeded-Bloomsburg) will crash the party. He lost to Wilps twice this year, but only by one point each time (5-6, 4-5).
EDITOR’S NOTE: The top three seeds are into the semifinals, while No. 4 seed Hernandez lost to No. 5 seed Taylor Meeks of Oregon State.
285 (Hwt)
The top heavyweight guys this year are all pretty fun to watch. I know that doesn’t seem possible. But both Chad Hanke (No. 4 seed-Oregon State) and Alan Gelogaev (No. 3-Oklahoma State) — who they call “Z” because of his middle name (Zelim) — used to wrestle at lower weights, a move that generally results in a more “active” heavyweight. Tony Nelson (No. 2 seed-Minnesota) — who I like to call “Major Tony Nelson,” but that’s probably just me — didn’t get the easiest draw, but will likely make it to the finals without too much trouble. I’m thinking it’s gonna be all Dom Bradley (No. 1 seed-Missouri) at that point. Again, though, this is not one of the weights I know a lot about, so take my opinion for what it’s worth (i.e., not much).
EDITOR’S NOTE: Hanke lost in the quarters, but the top three seeds are into the semifinals, including “Major Tony Nelson” (with no help from Jeannie, I’m sure).
Team
Cael Sanderson’s Penn State Nitanny Lions will most likely have 10 AA’s this year and more than one or two of their guys would have to underperform pretty drastically for them to lose the team title. At the same time, J Robinson’s Minnesota Golden Gophers and Tom Brands’s Iowa Hawkeyes would have to have several things go their way to have any chance at all. Sigh. Another rough year for my Hawks.
[David Taylor cover photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo]
