My Picks For The NCAA Wrestling Champions At Each Weight
The finals are set so here are my picks at each weight.
Tonight, I expect nothing but fireworks from each match. Here are my picks at each weight.
125: #1 Spencer Lee, Iowa vs #3 Brandon Courtney, Arizona State: The 125 weight class is dominated by one alpha and one alpha only. His name, is Spencer Lee. I predict that Lee will either major or tech Courtney in this match but, don’t be surprised if he pins him.
The only way that I can see Courtney pulling out a win is if he catches Lee with a throw or if he can somehow turn him while on top. Those chance are extremely slim though.
133: #1 Daton Fix, Oklahoma State vs #2 Roman Bravo-Young, Penn State: The finals that everyone wanted. These guys have extremely different styles of wrestling. Fix is a BULL. Super strong and is very dominant from top. For RBY, he is super athletic and funky in a scramble.
My pick here is that Daton Fix and his strong style of wrestling will overpower RBY. It will be. close but I think that Fix will lock up a riding time point and win a National Title.
141: #1 Jaydin Eierman, Iowa vs #2 Nick Lee, Penn State: A rematch of the Big Ten finals that Jaydin Eierman, the Riddler, won 6-5. Eierman may not be the best wrestler at 133 but, he is the funkiest. I’ve described Eierman as 50% talent and 50% luck. I will always bet on the guy who is lucky.
Nick Lee is super technical so I don’t believe that Eierman is going to blow Lee out or pin him but, I do think Eierman will win. He’s great in awkward positions and very difficult to wrestle against when he is on top.
149: #1 Sammy Sasso, Ohio State vs #2 Austin O’Connor, North Carolina: Sasso hadn’t looked like himself until his semifinal’s match where he pinned Boo Lewallen in the second period. I am still not sold on Sasso though.
Before this week, I had picked O’Connor vs Sasso in the finals and O’Connor winning. I will not be straying from this pick. O’Connor wins a close matchup.
157: #3 David Carr, Iowa State vs #4 Jesse Dellavecchia, Rider: I had Carr in the finals set to wrestle against the HAMMER, Ryan Deakin. Yesterday, Jesse Dellavecchia foiled those plans. He pinned Ryan Deakin, a guy who I thought would run through the tournament, in the second period.
I am going to ride with Jesse Dellavecchia because he is on a hot streak. Carr is a good wrestler and is probably better but Dellavecchia has the momentum on his side.
165: #3 Jake Wentzel, Pittsburgh vs #8 Shane Griffith, Stanford: Surprisingly, I picked this final match a week in advance and the champion I picked was Shane Griffith. Griffith has beaten the #1 seed Alex Marinelli and the #5 seed Zach Hartman so far.
Wentzel is very tough but, Griffith isn’t just wrestling for himself, he is wrestling to keep the Stanford wrestling program alive. I pick Griffith to win by four points over Jake Wentzel.
174: #1 Michael Kemerer, Iowa vs #3 Carter Starocci, Penn State: I didn’t have either of these guys in the finals but, I am not disappointed to see them on the big stage. Kemerer has looked unreal this whole tournament and is tough as nails.
Starocci wrestles with great energy but Kemerer is a lot stronger than the Penn State freshman. I predict that Kemerer wins and rides Starocci for around two minutes.
184: #1 Aaron Brooks, Penn State vs #2 Trent Hidlay, North Carolina State: I think Aaron Brooks is going to blow Hidlay out. Hidlay looked really poor against Poznanski from Rutgers in semifinals matchup. He looked super winded early on but was still able to hold Poznanski off.
Brooks, much like Starocci, wrestles with awesome energy and I think he is going to prevent Trent Hidlay from raising the roof.
197: #4 A.J. Ferrari, Oklahoma State vs #6 Nino Bonaccorsi, Pittsburgh: A.J. Ferrari is my new favorite wrestler. Many people hate him, I am not one of those people. He brings the theatrics to every match and wrestles with the most energy I have seen from anyone this year.
Bonaccorsi is tough but, A.J. Ferrari I think will beat him by around four points. This finals matchup is actually another one that I predicted with Ferrari as my champion. The Oklahoma State freshman is juiced up and ready to roll.
285: #1 Gable Steveson, Minnesota vs #2 Mason Parris, Michigan: No debate here, Gable by 100.