Anybody interested in 3 days of fantastic Freestyle wrestling combined with a glimpse towards the D1 season next year is going to have a fantastic time following University Nationals.

Despite the fact that there is no University Worlds this year, an enormous flux of talent will be headed to Akron.

Greco Gems: There are more than a few names to keep an eye on for the Greco field.  Here's just a couple:

Dmitry Ryabchinskiy is always in the mix when it comes to Greco. Keep an eye on him at 59KG.

Hawkeye fans will be excited to get some more eyes on their Freshman Sam Stoll and Burke Paddock. Stoll will be wrestling at 130KG and Paddock at 75KG. Paddock is the likely starter at 165 next year for the Hawkeyes and Stoll the projected heavyweight.

I continue to be excited to see Jarod Trice’s progression both at Greco as well as wrestling down a weight at 98KG. Trice looks to be a big favorite at 98. Orry Elor could be his biggest competition in this weight class. 

Arizona State’s Kevin Radford didn’t have the season I expected for the Sun Devils. I’ve never watched him go Greco before, and he could be an x-factor at 85KG as could Mike Larson.

57KG Contenders:
Tyler Graff
Darian Cruz
David Terao
Scott Parker
Sean Russell
Tim Lambert
Phillip Laux
Ryan Millhof
Tyrone Clump
Drew Templeman

It’s a very even and deep field, and then there’s Tyler Graff. Graff is head and shoulders above this field. His leg attacks are supreme and his emerging top game make him a stylistic nightmare for this crew. Graff recently qualified for the World Team Trials. Conventional wisdom says he’s entering here to get a weigh in down at 57 and a little more time to see how he feels at a weight nearly 8 pounds less than he competed at in college.

Darian Cruz, David Terao and Tim Lambert look to be the next tier. Of that group I think Terao is the best combination of talent and Freestyle savvy. He made the finals here a year ago against Nahshon Garrett.

CP’s Predictions:
1. Tyler Graff
2. David Terao
3. Darian Cruz
4. Tim Lambert
5. Sean Russell
6. Ryan Millhof


61KG Contenders:
George DiCamillo
Earl Hall
Nathan Kraisser
Rossi Bruno
Ali Naser
Eric Montoya
Joey Ward
Brock Zacherl
Zach Synon
Mason Pengilly
Dennis Gustafson
George Fisher
Javier Gasca
Kevin Norstrem
Paul Petrov
Anthony Giraldo
Corey Keener
Scott Delvecchio
Sam Brancale

Quite a list right? Probably missed some names too. This was a ton to sort through. It will all play itself out, but I don’t see this field with a pronounced favorite. Yesterday on FRL, Willie said Nathan Kraisser was his pick and that his Freestyle accolades were a step ahead of the field. Kraisser does give his legs up a lot, but he’s good with crotch lifts which could pay dividends here in earning exposures.

This bracket will be filled with landmines along the way. Brock Zacherl and Joey Ward are a few guys who wrestled at 141 this season, but are making the cut down to 61KG for University’s. Zacherl is one of my favorites to watch. He was impressive in defeat in his Fargo final last year. George DiCamillo and Earl Hall had some fantastic battles this year, and I’m hopeful they cross paths again in Akron. Hall packed a punch with his pin at the Scuffle, while George’s persistence won out in Vegas.

The Michigan pair of Rossi Bruno and George Fisher could make some noise. Obviously Bruno has a great shot at winning the whole thing as well. It wouldn’t be a preview without giving some love to VA. For real though, keep an eye on Dennis Gustafson. He is crazy wide open and will likely be the guy for VT next year at 133. Talent wise the field is even. It’ll be who’s clicking for 2 days.

CP’s Predictions:
1. Nathan Kraisser
2. Brock Zacherl
3. Ali Naser
4. Earl Hall
5. Rossi Bruno
6. George DiCamillo

65KG Contenders:
Lavion Mayes
Evan Henderson
Laike Gardner
Anthony Abidin
Josh Martinez
Sam Speno
Malik Amine
John Meeks
Zehlin Storr
Topher Carton
Danny Sabatello
Troy Heilmann
Tyson Dippery

Was psyched to see Evan Henderson enter late. He’s been wrestling a ton of Freestyle lately. I see 2 guys that are potentially a cut above the field: Evan Henderson, Lavion Mayes and Anthony Abidin. I think Mayes was tailor-made for freestyle. Great shots from space, incredible strength and the ability to expose off of takedowns. He doesn’t get 2, he can get 4 of a double or even a single. I love the ease in which he can get to legs as well. I like Henderson a bit more if this is Folkstyle where his top game can play a factor. Against Lavion and his leg attacks, I think the matchup favors the Tiger.

Then there’s Abidin, one of my favorites to watch in this field. I think he can wrestle with anyone at this weight, but is just out-classed a touch by Mayes (who beat him at NCAA’s) and Henderson. The next tier contains a large number of guys. Martinez up at 65 is intriguing considering he wrestled at 125 in March. Sabatello of Purdue wrestled at 133 now comes up a weight as well. I’ll always be fascinated with John Meeks though his talent is yet to pan out in results.
Excited to watch: Laike Gardner, Malik Amine, Zehlin Storr, Troy Heilmann, Tyson Dippery

CP's Predictions:
1. Lavion Mayes
2. Evan Henderson
3. Anthony Abidin
4. Laike Gardner
5. Danny Sabatello
6. Tyson Dippery

70KG Contenders:
Anthony Collica
Brandon Sorensen
Alec Pantaleo
Rick Durso
Joey Lavallee
Solomon Chishko
Jake Sueflohn
Sal Mastriani
Tyler Berger
Clay Ream
Chad Walsh
Collin Heffernan
Edwin Cooper
Andrew Morse
Renaldo Rodriguez Spencer
Chandler Pyke
John Boyle
Ken Theobold
Matt Cimato

Maybe the deepest of all the brackets. 70 is a monster. Anthony Collica was a late entry and I wonder if he is not the favorite here. I think the class of this weight is Collica, Sorensen, Sueflohn, Durso and Pantaleo.

Skill for skill I think Collica has the ability to score at a higher clip than almost everybody. I am concerned with his lack of consistency from his time at 157 this year. That leveled off over time, but it’s still worth considering in a field of this strength. Sorensen has the positional discipline but will he have the offensive chops to score enough points? We’ll get our first look at Jake Sueflohn post-injury. We know he’ll bring heat, but this will be a meat grinder, and I am curious to see him withstand the 2 day pounding his body will take at a tournament of this magnitude.

Rick Durso is coming off his redshirt season where he spent a lot of time up a weight. He’ll stay wrestling up in this weight class. I think Chishko, Berger, Pantaleo and Cooper are talented enough to make a deep run, but we will see early collisions between hammers at R16 if not before!

CP’s Predictions:
1. Brandon Sorensen
2. Anthony Collica
3. Jake Sueflohn
4. Rick Durso
5. Solomon Chishko
6. Tyler Berger


74KG Contenders:
Ian Miller
Mike Moreno
Thomas Gantt
Daniel Lewis
Ethan Ramos
Doug Welch
Markus Schiedel
Nestor Taffur
Anthony Perrotti

Ian Miller then everybody else? Probably. But possibly not. We’ve seen Ian Miller look otherworldly and unbeatable. We’ve also seen him have matches where we wonder if we are actually still watching Ian Miller. He’s the favorite, and he’s my pick, but considering his occasional inconsistency, a loss cannot be discounted as an option.

Moreno, Gantt and Lewis make up the next tier. These guys all have potential to go with the best in this weight. Lewis showed his stuff a few weeks ago in Vegas, and you know I’ve been high on Gantt for awhile now. Mike Moreno’s skills are well known at this point and his experience is an ally. Falling short at NCAA’s, you can expect Moreno to be fired up to re-establish himself.

I’m curious to see where Ethan Ramos fits in coming off his All-American campaign. It’s possible he can slide into that 2nd tier. Welch, Schiedel, Perrotti and Taffur are all dangerous but have had major consistency issues (save Taffur).

CP’s Predictions:
1. Ian Miller
2. Thomas Gantt
3. Mike Moreno
4. Daniel Lewis
5. Nestor Taffur
6. Doug Welch

80KG Contenders:
Alex Meyer
Mike Ottinger
Dillon Artigliere
Josh Llopez
Nick Wanzek
Garrett Peppelman
Kimball Bastian
Micah Barnes
Ryan Christensen
Chad Welch
Jim Wilson
Keaton Subjeck

If there’s a favorite here, I may be missing it. Mike Ottinger is interesting, but coming off of an injury, I wonder about his effectiveness. Alex Meyer is probably the safest pick. He’s got the Freestyle pedigree combined with some fantastic wins from this past college season.

Cornell fans will be excited to watch Dillon Artigliere in action. He’s the potential starting 174 next year for the Big Red. Josh Llopez is a familiar name with talent to go with anybody. He’s been mixing it up for Liberty the last year. UVA will roll out the next installment of the Peppelman lineage next year. He is skilled but can give some points up. I’m excited to see his progression after a season in the UVA room.

Stanford All American Jim Wilson is among the more credentialed competitors at this weight. He could be the favorite I'm missing here.

CP’s Predictions:
1. Alex Meyer
2. Mike Ottinger
3. Jim Wilson
4. Dillon Artigliere
5. Josh Llopez
6. Garrett Peppelman

86KG Contenders:
Joey Davis
Hayden Zilmer
Pat Downey
Domenic Abounader
Sammy Brooks
Ethen Lofthouse
Tim Dudley
Zack Zavatsky
Aaron Studebaker
Blake Stauffer
Ryan Loder
Cole Baxter
Dom Scalise
Dylan Gabel

Here’s the toast of the town in my opinion. I think this is the toughest weight of the entire tournament. To many Pat Downey is still a name outside the consciousness of most wrestling fans. His Junior World Silver Medal to go along with many other accolades tells me he’s the guy to be here. The question is will he put an entire tournament together? Downey is the complete package, he’s got the leg attacks and upper body skills to go along with them.

A number of NCAA All Americans will be in this field: Ethen Lofthouse, TJ Dudley, Hayden Zilmer, Ryan Loder and Blake Stauffer to name a few. Of that bunch, I think Lofthouse is the biggest threat. There’s a few non-AA hammers as well: Sammy Brooks, Zack Zavatsky, Aaron Studebaker and Dom Abounader. Though none of these guys have that podium finish they are certainly that caliber. Zavatsky is a guy I’ve loved watching when I was preparing the redshirt reports. Brooks’ high risk, high reward style will suit him well in the international style. We can’t forget Joey Davis, AKA the Ice-Man will be in the mix. Though I do have some doubts if this is the ACTUAL Joey Davis since he registered as being from Kansas. That threw me for a loop.

CP’s Predictions:
1. Pat Downey
2. Ethen Lofthouse
3. Sammy Brooks
4. Blake Stauffer
5. Domenic Abounader
6. Joey Davis

97KG Contenders:
Nathan Burak
Phil Wellington
Jared Haught
John Bolich
Preston Weigel
Chip Ness
Cody Reed
Shawn Scott
Trent Noon
Jackson Lewis
Michael Boykin

Iowa All American Nathan Burak looks to be the guy the rest of the field will be chasing in the 97KG weight. Burak, like his brother Micah has been very successful at Freestyle. Nathan has evolved away from being so 2 on 1 reliant and that has served him well. He is a solid handfighter and has consistent and safe leg attacks.

When Phil Wellington has it all clicking he’s dangerous. Like, beat J’Den Cox dangerous. The issue here is, will Wellington be clicking? He’s coming off of a very inconsistent season. There’s a tier of guys with very similar skill level in this 2nd tier. Jared Haught, Chip Ness, Michael Boykin, Trent Noon, Preston Weigel and John Bolich.

Weigel is a name to know. He’s the likely 197 starter for Oklahoma State next year. If they could get production out of him, it will go a long way for the Cowboys chances at a National Title.

CP’s Predictions:
1. Nathan Burak
2. Phil Wellington
3. John Bolich
4. Jared Haught
5. Preston Weigel
6. Chip Ness


125KG Contenders:
Adam Coon
Blaize Cabell
Ty Walz
Billy Smith
Collin Jensen
Jon Scanlan
Garrett Ryan
Josh Marchok
Nathan Butler

Very solid class here lead by Adam Coon. Coon won this tournament a year ago in dominant fashion going through Connor Medbery and Austin Marsden. In Folkstyle we’ve seen his vulnerabilities, even against Ty Walz at Vegas. The question is will those issues present themselves here? Coon is such a force of nature with his combination of length, size and footwork that it is tough to see anyone, including Walz replicating their Folkstyle success against Coon.

Another issue with Walz is that he’ll potentially have to get through Blaize Cabell just to get to Coon. Cabell notched two wins over the VT All American including one at NCAA’s. His progression has been outstanding but I don’t know much about his freestyle chops.

Nathan Butler took the UWW Junior title in Vegas, but the competition is much tougher here. He’s a guy worth keeping an eye on, but will probably struggle to break into that top tier with more skilled contemporaries. Billy Smith is dangerous here from Rutgers as is the Freestyle savvy Garrett Ryan.

Check out Coon/Walz from CKLV:

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CP’s Predictions:
1. Adam Coon
2. Blaize Cabell
3. Ty Walz
4. Nathan Butler
5. Billy Smith
6. Garrett Ryan