It's March Mat-ness Time, Here Are My National Championship Picks At Each Weight
It's not March Madness. It's March Mat-ness.
Between late February to the end of April, I am in my sports glory. You have the NFL Draft, NFL free agency, and March Madness, but none of those things compare to the thrill of March Mat-ness. College wrestling never get’s the proper publicity I believe it should get so I want to shine some light on this glorious sport.
This year, each weight class is loaded beyond belief with talented freshman and experienced fifth and sixth years so there should be fireworks starting on day one. Here are my ten picks at each ten weight classes for who I believe will win National Titles.
125: #1 Nick Suriano, Michigan
Suriano, the graduate student from Rutgers, has a pretty favorable path through the bracket which is the first reason he’s my pick to take home another natty. Suriano won’t run into a true challenger until the semifinals when he could potentially matchup with Arizona States Brandon Courtney. But that would even be a big maybe if those two will meet because Courtney has a tough road against wrestlers like Drake Ayala from Iowa and Taylor LaMont from Utah Valley. Suriano just matches up so much better than everyone on his side of the bracket when you factor in his experience and style. He’s an explosive free style wrestler with a record of 18-7 in free style, proving how good he is from his feet which will be a challenge to whoever he wrestles in the finals.
Like I mentioned before, experience is a huge factor. He’s wrestled in two National Championship matches prior when he was at Rutgers. In 2018 he lost at 125 pounds to Iowa standout Spencer Lee and the following year when he bumped to 133, he outlasted Oklahoma State hammer Daton Fix to win 4-2. The bright lights will not faze the New Jersey native and when you put that with his weak side of the bracket and great offense, you have the concoction for a National champ in 2022.
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State
Other than Gable Steveson, Roman Bravo-Young might be the best wrestler in the country. He’s technically sound, has a very unique style from his feet, and cannot be held on bottom. This season he’s won 10 of his 17 matches with bonus points and has beaten the 5 and 6 seeds Austin DeSanto and Dylan Ragusin a total of four times by a combine score of 18-4.
I do get a bit worried about the potential finals rematch with Daton Fix because he’s a HAMMER on top and remarkably strong for a 133 pound wrestler. But RBYs quickness I think could properly counteract this attack again. RBY is looking to go back to back after beating Fix in 2021 by a score of 4-2 in sudden victory, and I’m predicting that it’ll happen again.
141: #3 Sebastian Rivera, Rutgers
This is a risky pick. Sebastian Rivera medically forfeited out of the Big Ten tournament so I’m throwing all my eggs into the Sea Bass basket and am banking on him being healthy. But when Sea Bass is healthy, I think he’s the best 141 pounder in the country; better than Lee, better than Eierman. He’s a tremendously tough wrestler that has very good shot defense which will work against Iowas Jaydin Eierman if they meet in the semifinals. Eierman may be funky, but sound and technical wrestling can bury an unconventional wrestler.
Riveras won 21 matches with bonus points this year, 13 by tech fall. The Northwestern transfer scores early and often and pushes the action and that is the big reason why I like Sea Bass to win a title.
149: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell
Wrestlings Greek Freak has one of the oddest builds in the sport, but it works in his favor. His extraordinarily long arms with his scrambling ability make him one of the toughest athletes to wrestle against. Diakomihalis won titles in 2018 and 2019 and is looking for his third. Other than picking Gable, this is my most confident pick to reach the top of the podium.
His resume this season is very impressive. He’s picked up wins over Ridge Lovett, Jaden Abas, Sammy Sasso, Beau Bartlett, and Austin Gomez; all potential wrestlers he could matchup with. Take it to the bank, Yianni gets his third title.
157: #2 Ryan Deakin, Northwestern
Deakin lost a fluke match last year to dark horse 4 seed, Jesse Dellavecchi in the semifinals but wrestled back to take third at Nationals. Prior to that though he was hammering kids. On the scoreboard the matches looked VERY close like a 5-4 win over Jared Franek and a 6-0 win over Kaleb Young, but he would ride wrestlers for over two minutes a match. He wears wrestlers out and makes them regret stepping on the mat.
I think that we’ll see a 1-2 match in the finals between Deakin and Carr and it’ll be a match of two different styles. Carr is very electric and agile in his moves while Deakin is a bull for only weighing 157 pounds and wants to beat on you. If Deakin can score from his feet in the first and begin to accumulate riding time then Carr will be subdued. I think that the Northwestern senior will bring a title back to Evanston after falling short in 2021.
165: #1 Evan Wick, Cal Poly
165 is a loaded weight class with big names spread throughout like returning champ and 5 seed Shane Griffith, #3 Alex Marinelli, and #10 Jake Wentzel, but one man is ranked ahead of all and is my pick to win a National Title. That is Cal Polys Evan Wick. Wicks beaten Shane Griffith three times, Anthony Valencia once, and Cameron Amine once so he has big wins under his belt and is a red shirt senior with a career record of 128-21.
Wicks long body is difficult for other smaller, stocky wrestlers to match up against like Marinelli so he’ll be a tough draw for whoever crosses him. I think that experience plays a factor here and that’s another reason I like Wick to take home a National Title.
174: #2 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech
Back to back, were looking at stacked weights and I couldn’t be more ecstatic about it. When the wrestling season began I was ready to ride with Penn States Carter Starocci, but after seeing Mekhi Lewis’s magic in the ACC tournament, I had to swap my pick to the 2019 National champ. Lewis is 20-1 on the year with 11 bonus point wins.
Experience has been a consistent topic that I’ve harped on in this article so far and that won’t be changing when I’m discussing Lewis. He’s won a National Title before and being on the biggest stage that college wrestling has to offer won’t faze the Virginia Tech sophomore. Lewis’s biggest assets are his brute strength and composure in late period or overtime matches. This season he’s 2-1 in overtime or tiebreaker matches which is what you typically see in the NCAA finals as the two best wrestlers are butting heads. Lewis isn’t flashy off the mat, but on the mat he really shines.
184: #2 Aaron Brooks, Penn State
It doesn’t feel right that Brooks is the two seed because when I looked at this bracket, I didn’t even think twice about picking him to win. Myles Amine, the 1 seed, has the same 16-1 record as Brooks but the reason he’s ahead of him is because Amine beat Brooks more recent. In the Big Ten finals, Amine took Brooks into deepwater and defeated him by a score of 6-4 in sudden victory. When the two wrestled earlier in the season, Brooks beat Amine 3-1 in regulation.
Of Brooks’s 16 wins, 11 carried bonus points compared to Amines 6 bonus point wins. I look at 184 as a two man race and there really isn’t any nitty gritty to get into; I think, no no, I know Aaron Brooks is a better wrestler than Amine and when they meet in the finals, Brooks will claim his second National Title.
197: #2 Stephen Buchanan, Wyoming
There is a large elephant on the mat when it comes to 197 as last years National champ A.J. Ferrari is not wrestling due to injuries sustained in a car accident earlier in the year. But don’t let that distract you from Stephen Buchanan being a bit of a maverick; an underdog 2 seed that you rarely see. Buchanan took eighth last year, but has improved greatly and is ranked ahead of guys like Nino Bonaccorsi, Rocky Elam, and Jacob Woodley who finished 2021 better than Buchanan.
Buchanan has grown in every facet of the sport in 2021-2022 especially in the way he finishes matches. In 2020-2021, Buchanan only picked up 5 wins by bonus points and this season he’s won 18 matches with bonus points in only 5 extra matches. He does have a bit of a tough bracket with guys like Braxton Amos, Eric Schultz, and Rocky Elam in his path, but he has handled ranked opponents fine this season. I’m riding with Buchanan in Nationals for one other reason; he’s been a guest on My Parents Office podcast.
285: #1 Gable Steveson, Minnesota
I look at heavyweight and I have never felt more confident in picking a person to win a weight than I do now. The last time Gable lost at the college rank was in 2019 when he lost in the semifinals to eventual National champ Anthony Cassar, but since then the loss column has stayed at zero.
Gable is 265 pounds and moves like a 157. He’s more athletic than anyone at this weight, stronger than anyone at this weight, and more technical. The way he works from his feet is an outlier at heavyweight because he’s able to work ankle picks, single legs, and upper body throws while most other heavyweights have one or two moves in their arsenal. Oh, and he’s also beat just about everyone in this bracket prior. Last year when he won Nationals, Gable teched this years 5 seed Wyatt Hendrickson 17-2, beat current 4 seed Greg Kerkvliet 9-4, majored the 3 seed Tony Cassioppi 16-6, and defeated 7 seed Mason Parris 8-4 in the finals. I picked Gable with confidence when the season kicked off and I’m not straying from that pick.