NCAA Wrestling Brackets
- Thread starter Judoka
- Start date
Win over WIlliams and he'd probably have the #14 Seed, Beau Donahue of NC State next. He wouldn't be favored there but he'll get a shot against 2 guys ranked in the mid-teens in him and McCrystal. That's about as good a draw as Degen could have hoped for.
Looking through this bracket Degen could not have asked for a better draw. He'll won't be favored outside of that match against Williams but he could make it as far as the R12 without having to face anyone seeded above #11, and the part of the consolations he'd drop in to if he loses to McCrystal is the one the #8 seed falls in to in the blood round. He hasn't had any wins over guys in the top 20 so I'm not getting my hopes up, but if you wanted to draw up "how Degen AAs" this is pretty much how you'd set it up.
Assuming no upsets here's what his two possible paths to AA look like (first is a first round win, second is a first round loss)
Round 1: #13 Colton McCrystal - Nebraska
Round 2: #4 Troy Heilmann - North Carolina (Loss)
Conso Round 2: Steve Bleise - Minnesota or Cole Martin - Wisconsin
Conso Round 3: #12 Ruan Blees - Virginia Tech - Note: This would be an especially good match because presumably part of the reason Degen is at ISU is because Blees was ahead of him at VT)
R12: #7 Ryan Deakin - Northwestern
And if he loses the first round
Round 1: #13 Colton McCrystal - Nebraska (Loss)
Conso 1: Tyshawn Williams - SIUE
Conso 2: #14 Beau Donahue - NC State
Conso 3: #11 Matthew Kolodzik - Princeton
R12: #8 Boo Lewallen - Oklahoma State
Round 1: #13 Colton McCrystal - Nebraska
Round 2: #4 Troy Heilmann - North Carolina (Loss)
Conso Round 2: Steve Bleise - Minnesota or Cole Martin - Wisconsin
Conso Round 3: #12 Ruan Blees - Virginia Tech - Note: This would be an especially good match because presumably part of the reason Degen is at ISU is because Blees was ahead of him at VT)
R12: #7 Ryan Deakin - Northwestern
And if he loses the first round
Round 1: #13 Colton McCrystal - Nebraska (Loss)
Conso 1: Tyshawn Williams - SIUE
Conso 2: #14 Beau Donahue - NC State
Conso 3: #11 Matthew Kolodzik - Princeton
R12: #8 Boo Lewallen - Oklahoma State
Wrestling noob here, when is the NCAA Team championships? A simple Google search is proving rather unhelpful
As stated above, it's the weekend of March 15-17.
To be clear, it's just the "NCAA Wrestling Championships". It will have both an individual component as well as a team competition.
Wasn't sure if you were thinking about a national dual team championship, of which, there is none.
Degen draws #13 McCrystal of Nebraska.
Full brackets will be out shortly.
Tough for me not to root for McCrystal though as well; local Sergeant Bluff Luton / State of Iowa kid hoping for a good finish to his Senior Season.
Hope he loses first round and then makes a long run on the backside.
He'd have been easier to root for had he went to ISU
. I have trouble rooting for anyone from Nebraska. Strike that. I can only root for someone from Nebraska if they are family!Looking at the ranking services here's where his possible Thursday opponents stand. FloWrestling and Intermat rankings are updated post-conference tournaments. Coaches Panel and TheOpenMat are from pre-conference tournaments. If anybody can find the post conference tournament coaches panel I'd be interested in it, but it doesn't appear to have been released.
Intermat/Flowrestling/TheOpenMat/Coaches Panel (CP goes to 33, the rest only to 20)
Degen: UR/UR/UR/20
McCrystal: 10/11/7/9
Williams: UR/UR/UR
Donahue: 20/14/16/12
Heilman: 6/6/8/9
Looking at how these guys did at their conference tournaments:
Colton McCrystal was seeded 4th at Big 10s and took 4th. He opened up with a 17-5 win over unranked Britton of Michigan State but then lost in the quarterfinals 6-7 to Ke-Shawn Hayes of Ohio State (4/4/5/6). That dropped him in to a consolation match against unranked Nash of Purdue that he won by pin. Then he beat Bleise of Minnesota (17/16/15/21) 8-5 in the next round. In the consolation semifinals he didn't have to take the mat because the 3 seed, Deakin of Northwestern, medically forfeited. In the 3rd place match he had a rematch against Ke-Shwan Hayes that he lost 5-7.
TyShawn Williams was seeded 3rd in SoCons and took 1st. In the first round he beat unranked Joby Amernta 11-4. In the semifinals he beat unranked Zachary Barnes of Campbell 17-10. In the finals he beat unranked Gavin Londoff of App State 3-1 in OT. SoCons recieved an auto-bid for their conference champion at 149, they didn't have any Silver Standard wrestlers and their only ranked wrestler was Tyler Buckiso of The Citadel, who ended up taking 3rd after losing to Londoff in overtime in the other semifinal.
Troy Heilmann was seeded 1st at ACCs and took 1st. He had a first round bye and then beat Sam Krivus of Virginia (19/UR/UR/25) 3-0 in the semifinals. In the finals he beat Ryan Blees of Virginia Tech (14/13/15/15) 3-1.
Beau Donahue was seeded 2nd at ACCs but took 4th. He had a first round bye but lost 4-6 to Ryan Blees of Virginia Tech (14/13/15/15), Beat unranked Robert Lee of Pitt 5-4 in the consolations, and then lost 1-8 to Sam Krivus of Virginia (19/UR/UR/25) in the third place match.
I should note that there is a possible 5th wrestler for him on day 1. Donohue wrestler Cole Martin of Wisconsin (UR/UR/UR/UR in the first round. Martin is not ranked so it would be an upset if he took out Donahue, but not a huge one given Donahue's struggles at ACCs. Any other guy falling out of that part of the bracket to meet Degen on Thursday would require the 3 seed to lose.
Intermat/Flowrestling/TheOpenMat/Coaches Panel (CP goes to 33, the rest only to 20)
Degen: UR/UR/UR/20
McCrystal: 10/11/7/9
Williams: UR/UR/UR
Donahue: 20/14/16/12
Heilman: 6/6/8/9
Looking at how these guys did at their conference tournaments:
Colton McCrystal was seeded 4th at Big 10s and took 4th. He opened up with a 17-5 win over unranked Britton of Michigan State but then lost in the quarterfinals 6-7 to Ke-Shawn Hayes of Ohio State (4/4/5/6). That dropped him in to a consolation match against unranked Nash of Purdue that he won by pin. Then he beat Bleise of Minnesota (17/16/15/21) 8-5 in the next round. In the consolation semifinals he didn't have to take the mat because the 3 seed, Deakin of Northwestern, medically forfeited. In the 3rd place match he had a rematch against Ke-Shwan Hayes that he lost 5-7.
TyShawn Williams was seeded 3rd in SoCons and took 1st. In the first round he beat unranked Joby Amernta 11-4. In the semifinals he beat unranked Zachary Barnes of Campbell 17-10. In the finals he beat unranked Gavin Londoff of App State 3-1 in OT. SoCons recieved an auto-bid for their conference champion at 149, they didn't have any Silver Standard wrestlers and their only ranked wrestler was Tyler Buckiso of The Citadel, who ended up taking 3rd after losing to Londoff in overtime in the other semifinal.
Troy Heilmann was seeded 1st at ACCs and took 1st. He had a first round bye and then beat Sam Krivus of Virginia (19/UR/UR/25) 3-0 in the semifinals. In the finals he beat Ryan Blees of Virginia Tech (14/13/15/15) 3-1.
Beau Donahue was seeded 2nd at ACCs but took 4th. He had a first round bye but lost 4-6 to Ryan Blees of Virginia Tech (14/13/15/15), Beat unranked Robert Lee of Pitt 5-4 in the consolations, and then lost 1-8 to Sam Krivus of Virginia (19/UR/UR/25) in the third place match.
I should note that there is a possible 5th wrestler for him on day 1. Donohue wrestler Cole Martin of Wisconsin (UR/UR/UR/UR in the first round. Martin is not ranked so it would be an upset if he took out Donahue, but not a huge one given Donahue's struggles at ACCs. Any other guy falling out of that part of the bracket to meet Degen on Thursday would require the 3 seed to lose.
Last edited:
So who does everyone have winning? My thoughts below. It’s long, so I highlighted my winners in bold to make it easier.
125: I’m not a huge fan of how this bracket came out, as I think Suriano (4) is broken, and I think Cruz (1) is overrated. I like Piccininni, but he was given a really tough draw. Think he would have been better served on the top half, but he’s with Lee and Tomasello. Watch out for Rivera (10). I think it’s Tomasello’s to lose
133: Gross is definitely the favorite, but I really like Micic. The problem for Micic is he likely faces DeSanto in the quarters. I thought Brock looked pretty decent against Gross. I could see Gross, Micic, DeSanto or even Bridges (10). Taking Micic though I’m not confident.
141: What a nut buster of a weight class. I could see anyone 1-8 winning this thing. Yianni/Heil in the quarters?? If Yianni gets past him, would probably face Eierman next. Talk about a change of pace. I realize his talent, I’m not a big fan of Meredith. I’ll go with Eierman here, but I’m not too confident.
149: Retheford should probably just get a bye straight to the finals, though I think Hayes (5) or Lewallen (8) maybe. Sorenson is the heavy favorite to meet Retheford again. Kolodzik (11) is one to watch for.
157: I have NO idea. All depends on how hurt Nolf really is. He is so far ahead of everyone else, but if he’s 75% or so, the field evens out. Neither Hidlay (1) or Lavallee (2) have had many notable wins (Hidlay did win a head to head and did beat Jordan). I think Kemerer is really banged up, so I would be surprised if he gets too far. I’ll go with Nolf, but the 1st couple of matches may be telling
165: I really think IMAR is in a mission and rolls. If Massa (7) is healthy, I could see him making some noise. I though a couple weeks ago that Marinelli (5) had a great shot, but looks like he’s wearing down to me. Would never completely count Joseph out, but I just don’t think he pulls it off this year
174: It’s Valencia’s turn, isn’t it? Hard to bet against Hall, but I’m going to here. I am a huge fan of UNI’s Lujan. Love his attitude and he’s a scrapper. He could turn some head’s, but Hall is on another level
184: Give me a break. I watched Abounader (6) give Nickal a match early in the dual season, but at the end of the day, I don’t think anyone but Martin can touch Nickal. Martin has shown he can be a little inconsistent, but ultimately, I see Nickal/Martin again, with Nickal winning
197: I am not sold on Moore (1). Darmstadt (2) is a stud, but he’s also a freshman. I could see someone like Weigel (9) winning this thing. I’ll go with Haught (3) though
285: Two horse race. Snyder/Coon. Take your pick. Neither is wrong. I’m going with Coon, only because he’s athletic enough, he’s huge and he’s smart. Snyder is the best, but if he’s going to hit a shot, he has to be committed to it.
125: I’m not a huge fan of how this bracket came out, as I think Suriano (4) is broken, and I think Cruz (1) is overrated. I like Piccininni, but he was given a really tough draw. Think he would have been better served on the top half, but he’s with Lee and Tomasello. Watch out for Rivera (10). I think it’s Tomasello’s to lose
133: Gross is definitely the favorite, but I really like Micic. The problem for Micic is he likely faces DeSanto in the quarters. I thought Brock looked pretty decent against Gross. I could see Gross, Micic, DeSanto or even Bridges (10). Taking Micic though I’m not confident.
141: What a nut buster of a weight class. I could see anyone 1-8 winning this thing. Yianni/Heil in the quarters?? If Yianni gets past him, would probably face Eierman next. Talk about a change of pace. I realize his talent, I’m not a big fan of Meredith. I’ll go with Eierman here, but I’m not too confident.
149: Retheford should probably just get a bye straight to the finals, though I think Hayes (5) or Lewallen (8) maybe. Sorenson is the heavy favorite to meet Retheford again. Kolodzik (11) is one to watch for.
157: I have NO idea. All depends on how hurt Nolf really is. He is so far ahead of everyone else, but if he’s 75% or so, the field evens out. Neither Hidlay (1) or Lavallee (2) have had many notable wins (Hidlay did win a head to head and did beat Jordan). I think Kemerer is really banged up, so I would be surprised if he gets too far. I’ll go with Nolf, but the 1st couple of matches may be telling
165: I really think IMAR is in a mission and rolls. If Massa (7) is healthy, I could see him making some noise. I though a couple weeks ago that Marinelli (5) had a great shot, but looks like he’s wearing down to me. Would never completely count Joseph out, but I just don’t think he pulls it off this year
174: It’s Valencia’s turn, isn’t it? Hard to bet against Hall, but I’m going to here. I am a huge fan of UNI’s Lujan. Love his attitude and he’s a scrapper. He could turn some head’s, but Hall is on another level
184: Give me a break. I watched Abounader (6) give Nickal a match early in the dual season, but at the end of the day, I don’t think anyone but Martin can touch Nickal. Martin has shown he can be a little inconsistent, but ultimately, I see Nickal/Martin again, with Nickal winning
197: I am not sold on Moore (1). Darmstadt (2) is a stud, but he’s also a freshman. I could see someone like Weigel (9) winning this thing. I’ll go with Haught (3) though
285: Two horse race. Snyder/Coon. Take your pick. Neither is wrong. I’m going with Coon, only because he’s athletic enough, he’s huge and he’s smart. Snyder is the best, but if he’s going to hit a shot, he has to be committed to it.
I don't think I have time this week to do a full bracket like I've done a lot of years, but I'll set up a wrestlestat pool now that you've reminded me.
