Results to my picks:
125: Matt McDonough, Iowa = 1st Place. His relentless pace helped him cap off an amazing season with an incredibly dominating trounament. He won his first two by pin, his third and fourth by major decisions and a solid 4-1 victory to capture the 125 title.
133: Jordan Oliver, Oklahoma St. = 2nd Place. He won it last year as a junior and was poised to seize the title once again as a senior but surprisingly fell short to freshman and #2 seeded Logan Stieber in a somewhat controversial 4-3 decision loss. It looked like Oliver had a takedown in the last seconds but the ref called it a neutral position. Either way watch for Oliver to do big things soon. I could see him being great for MMA but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him capture gold at some point. He has been one of my favorites to watch the last few years and I wish him luck!
141: Kendric Maple, Oklahoma = 4th Place. Maple in my mind was one of the stronger picks I had this season but fell apart at the end there. He started the tournament with a pin and two major decisions but then lost two overtime decisions to grab 4th place. But he is only a junior and will be a favorite next year.
149: Frank Molinaro, Penn State = 1st Place. Molinaro has been one of my favorite wrestlers for the last few years and this year he got the title. I like watching him wrestle because he wrestles so maturely. He picks his shots so well and never forces shots. He has impeccable defense as well. He had a great tournament with 2 major decision and 2 shutouts. Plus, a solid 4-1 title victory. He graduates this year but I really hopes he goes to MMA. His strength is insanely impressive and he could be an absolute force at either featherweight or lightweight.
157: Kyle Dake, Cornell = 1st Place. Is Dake the best talent we have ever seen? Possibly. This year he became the first ever to win a third national championship in three different weight classes!! Yes, you read that right! He has outscored his opponents 48-3 in his first three years in the National Championship tournaments. Are you kidding me?!! Let us see if he can make it four years in a row next year! Wow!
165: David Taylor, Penn State = 1st Place. Taylor had the most dominant National Championshiop title run I have ever witnessed and may be the most dominant ever. Taylor had 4 straight pins and then a technical fall; which means he is up by 15 points and automatically wins. For those who do not know how amazing this is take my word it is a big deal and almost never happens at this level and especially never happens in the finals!!! By the way Taylor is only a Sophmore!!! Wow! This kid is unbelievable and his future could resemble Kyle Dake’s success.
174: Chris Perry, Oklahoma St. = 3rd Place. Perry started off pretty strong but fell short to a formidable Nick Amuchastgui. He is only a sophomore and under the tutelage of my favorite coach, John Smith, he will capture the title in the next two years.
184: Steve Bosak, Cornell = 1st Place. Bosak was my major underdog pick but I saw him being too experienced to lose to some of the younger guys at 184. He started the tournament with three straight shutouts and then finished with two 4-2 overtime decisions. I think his experience truly helped him in those tight overtime periods. I don’t think he has the ability to do a whole lot of the world level but I think his mat IQ and experience could help him be very successful in MMA; like a Chris Weidman who is also at 185.
197: Christopher Honeycutt, Edinboro = 2nd Place. Honeycutt was an underdog but his record was 40-1 and he is a humongous 197 pound man. He must cut roughly 30 pounds at least. And although I usually pick the lankier and lighter guys I just couldn’t ignore Honeycutt’s strength, experience and beautiful record. He must come to MMA. I think he would be unbelievable at it.
285: Anthony Nelson, Minnesota = 1st Place. The heavyweight tournament this year was a great one. Ryan Flores seemed destined to win it all by being seeded #1 and starting out the tournament with 4 straight pins! But last year’s champion, Zachery Rey from Lehigh, beat him by a somewhat dominate 6-2 decision. My underdog pick in Anthony Nelson seemed like a pick that was destined to fail on paper. He is a small heavyweight and only a sophomore. Everyone said I was wrong with this pick and that either Flores or Rey could wipe the floor with him but they were soooo wrong! In the finals Rey looked like he had about 40 – 50 pounds on Nelson. And Rey started off strong but Nelson was able to avoid losing any points and then at the last seconds of the match scored an incredible takedown right on the edge of the mat. It was a great and exciting heavyweight tournament with a new star being born in Nelson. Also for all of our MMA fans out there other Minnesota heavyweight National Champs are Current Bellator Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar! Watch out big guys!!
Thanks so much for reading this article on our blog! We truly love collegiate wrestling and it is easily the most unappreciated sport on the planet. There is no doubt that the best athletes in the world come from wrestling and this sport holds dear to my heart. If you are a true hardcore MMA fan you have to watch collegiate and Olympic wrestling! Stop by at the blog soon for the ADCC (Abu Dahbi Combat Club) coverage plus future UFC events as well!
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