What We've Learned: 149 Pounds
What We've Learned: 149 Pounds
NCAA Wrestling's biggest changes at the 149 pound weight class and how the NCAA Wrestling rankings have changed.
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149 pounds has seen quite a bit of movement this year. From preseason to now, we’ve seen shifting within the top five as well as two top-ten wrestlers redshirting.
Let’s take a look at the side by side rankings from preseason to now.
Initially we thought we’d see Pantaleo and Finesilver, but both are taking redshirt years.
The Collica to Sorensen group has yielded some interesting results. Collica got over the hump against Sorensen and appeared to have Mayes figured out as well, winning two matches against Lavion. Lavion won the most recent encounter, but Collica holds the two spot regardless.
Sorensen down at the four spot is a bit jarring and unexpected, but this 2-4 group is obviously quite tight. Max Thomsen is by far the biggest mover of the year. He started the season ranked 20th and has steadily climbed the ranks all the way up to the 7 spot.
Looking at the predictions I made originally, the glaring bad prediction was Collica down at seven. He was the 11 seed last year and turned it on at NCAA’s. I thought he’d regress back towards the mean slightly. That was wrong. Instead, he’s become a bona fide finalist contender. Ken Theobold will ultimately be viewed as a whiff in the 8 spot, though he has been ok. I took a flyer. Thomsen and Oliver have been strong this year and are great candidates to place.
CP's Preseason Predictions:
1. Zain Retherford, Penn State
2. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa
3. Lavion Mayes, Missouri
4. Micah Jordan, Ohio State
5. Alec Pantaleo, Michigan
6. Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech
7. Anthony Collica, Oklahoma State
8. Ken Theobold, Rutgers
Round of 12: Justin Oliver, Central Michigan; Pat Lugo, Edinboro; Christian Pagdilao, Arizona State; Max Thomsen, Northern Iowa
Collica and Mayes had a fun one at the 2017 Southern Scuffle:
I’m not ready to bail on Sorensen as the #2 guy. I’ll need more than a two second riding time loss in 4 tiebreakers to know that Collica has firmly passed him. Apart from that, it’s a pretty straight forward list. This weight is nine strong in my opinion, but takes a drop after 10 spot or so.
CP’s Current Predictions:
1. Zain Retherford, PSU
2. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa
3. Anthony Collica, Ok State
4. Lavion Mayes, Missouri
5. Micah Jordan, Ohio State
6. Justin Oliver, Central Michigan
7. Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech
8. Max Thomsen, UNI
Round of 12: Pat Lugo, Edinboro; Sam Speno, NC State; Davion Jeffries, Oklahoma; Laike Gardner, Lehigh
The interesting thing about this weight is that every big player in the team race has a stud. This could be a swing weight where a surprising dnp coupled with an overperformance could swing the entire trophy race.
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149 pounds has seen quite a bit of movement this year. From preseason to now, we’ve seen shifting within the top five as well as two top-ten wrestlers redshirting.
Let’s take a look at the side by side rankings from preseason to now.
| Preseason Rank | Grade | Name | School | Current Rank | Grade | Name | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JR | Zain Retherford | Penn State | 1 | JR | Zain Retherford | Penn State |
| 2 | JR | Brandon Sorensen | Iowa | 2 | SR | Anthony Collica | OK State |
| 3 | SR | Lavion Mayes | Missouri | 3 | SR | Lavion Mayes | Missouri |
| 4 | SR | Anthony Collica | OK State | 4 | JR | Brandon Sorensen | Iowa |
| 5 | JR | Alec Pantaleo | Michigan | 5 | SO | Micah Jordan | Ohio State |
| 6 | SO | Micah Jordan | Ohio State | 6 | SO | Solomon Chishko | Virginia Tech |
| 7 | SO | Solomon Chishko | Virginia Tech | 7 | FR | Max Thomsen | UNI |
| 8 | SO | Justin Oliver | Central Michigan | 8 | SR | Sam Speno | NC State |
| 9 | JR | Mitch Finesilver | Duke | 9 | SO | Pat Lugo | Edinboro |
| 10 | SR | Matt Cimato | Drexel | 10 | SO | Justin Oliver | Central Michigan |
| 11 | SO | Pat Lugo | Edinboro | 11 | SR | Laike Gardner | Lehigh |
| 12 | SO | Davion Jeffries | Oklahoma | 12 | SR | Matt Cimato | Drexel |
| 13 | SR | Ken Theobold | Rutgers | 13 | SO | Alfred Bannister | Maryland |
| 14 | JR | Christian Pagdilao | Arizona State | 14 | SO | Steve Bleise | N. Illinois |
| 15 | SO | Steve Bleise | N. Illinois | 15 | SO | Davion Jeffries | Oklahoma |
| 16 | SR | Sam Speno | NC State | 16 | SR | Ken Theobold | Rutgers |
| 17 | SR | Gabe Moreno | Iowa State | 17 | SR | Joey Delgado | Oregon State |
| 18 | SR | Laike Gardner | Lehigh | 18 | SR | Alex Kocer | SD State |
| 19 | SO | Shyheim Brown | Maryland | 19 | SR | Cole Mendenhall | Wyoming |
| 20 | FR | Max Thomsen | UNI | 20 | SR | Jordan Laster | Princeton |
Initially we thought we’d see Pantaleo and Finesilver, but both are taking redshirt years.
The Collica to Sorensen group has yielded some interesting results. Collica got over the hump against Sorensen and appeared to have Mayes figured out as well, winning two matches against Lavion. Lavion won the most recent encounter, but Collica holds the two spot regardless.
Sorensen down at the four spot is a bit jarring and unexpected, but this 2-4 group is obviously quite tight. Max Thomsen is by far the biggest mover of the year. He started the season ranked 20th and has steadily climbed the ranks all the way up to the 7 spot.
Looking at the predictions I made originally, the glaring bad prediction was Collica down at seven. He was the 11 seed last year and turned it on at NCAA’s. I thought he’d regress back towards the mean slightly. That was wrong. Instead, he’s become a bona fide finalist contender. Ken Theobold will ultimately be viewed as a whiff in the 8 spot, though he has been ok. I took a flyer. Thomsen and Oliver have been strong this year and are great candidates to place.
CP's Preseason Predictions:
1. Zain Retherford, Penn State
2. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa
3. Lavion Mayes, Missouri
4. Micah Jordan, Ohio State
5. Alec Pantaleo, Michigan
6. Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech
7. Anthony Collica, Oklahoma State
8. Ken Theobold, Rutgers
Round of 12: Justin Oliver, Central Michigan; Pat Lugo, Edinboro; Christian Pagdilao, Arizona State; Max Thomsen, Northern Iowa
Collica and Mayes had a fun one at the 2017 Southern Scuffle:
I’m not ready to bail on Sorensen as the #2 guy. I’ll need more than a two second riding time loss in 4 tiebreakers to know that Collica has firmly passed him. Apart from that, it’s a pretty straight forward list. This weight is nine strong in my opinion, but takes a drop after 10 spot or so.
CP’s Current Predictions:
1. Zain Retherford, PSU
2. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa
3. Anthony Collica, Ok State
4. Lavion Mayes, Missouri
5. Micah Jordan, Ohio State
6. Justin Oliver, Central Michigan
7. Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech
8. Max Thomsen, UNI
Round of 12: Pat Lugo, Edinboro; Sam Speno, NC State; Davion Jeffries, Oklahoma; Laike Gardner, Lehigh
The interesting thing about this weight is that every big player in the team race has a stud. This could be a swing weight where a surprising dnp coupled with an overperformance could swing the entire trophy race.
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