It's CKLV week, and with over 100 ranked wrestlers coming to Vegas, our previews need to be broken up into pieces. Today we're going over 125 and 133 pounds.

Between the two weights, there are 26 total ranked wrestlers, and several other intriguing entries who are not currently in the rankings. Among last year's placers, five return at 125 and as many as six could come back at 133, depending on a few roster decisions.

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Remember, CKLV is a single entry tournament, so for all intents and purposes, each team will enter their "starters," though of course nearly every squad is battling some level of injury throughout their lineup. We will be keeping an eye on official releases from programs to confirm who will be in attendance.

Let's take a look at both weights with the contenders and make some guesses at sleepers and landmines who could upset the apple cart. Brackets will eventually be on FloArena.

125 Pounds

Contenders

#2 Sebastian Rivera, Northwestern: 1-0

#3 Ronnie Bresser, Oregon State: 4-0

#6 Louie Hayes, Virginia: 3-0

#8 Sean Russsell, Minnesota: 5-1

#9 Zeke Moisey, Nebraska: 2-1

Dark Horses

#10 Travis Piotrowski, Illinois: 0-0

#13 Devin Schroder, Purdue: 8-1

#14 Rico Montoya, Northern Colorado: 4-0

#15 Gabe Townsell, Stanford: 6-1

#16 Drew Mattin, Michigan: 3-2

#19 Jay Schwarm, Northern Iowa: 2-0

#20 Cole Verner, Wyoming: 6-4

It’s very possible the winner of this weight emerges as the early favorite to meet Spencer Lee in the NCAA finals. Six of the Top-10 will be in attendance, including four All-Americans.

Northwestern’s first trip to Vegas in forever means that #2 Sebastian Rivera enters as the top seed. He missed the first couple weeks of the season, but looked great with eight takedowns in a 19-6 win over Joey Prata in the Virginia Tech dual. He should be the top seed, and if the seeds look like our rankings, he's got wins over the guys who would be seeded second through seventh.

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The main reason Rivera owns the #2 ranking is his 12-2 win over Ronnie Bresser in Cleveland. That consi quarters match was closer than the score indicated, as it was 2-1 going into the third period. Rivera's ability to fend off a swing single in the first and earn heavy riding in the second proved crucial. His first two takedowns were extremely quick finishes, and Bresser got pancaked trying to shoot with 26 seconds remaining for Rivera's final six points of the match.

Oregon State is also a new wrinkle to CKLV as they last went three years ago. That year, Bresser went 5-1 to finish third, losing in the semis to Joey Dance. The Beaver senior pinned Sean Russell at the national tournament in their only meeting, and is 2-0 against Zeke Moisey, though those matches were from 2014 and 2015.

Hayes is in his third season in Charlottesville and is one of the returning placers at 125. The redshirt sophomore carries the #6 ranking into the tournament and should be the three seed. Last year in Vegas, he fell in the first round before ripping off five wins in a row to guarantee a spot on the podium. He's got limited experience against the field, having only wrestled three matches against other ranked competitors here.

Sean Russell is the highest returning placer, having made the finals last year while still at Edinboro. In the semifinals, he stormed back from 4-0 down entering the third period against Jay Schwarm, scoring three takedowns and getting backpoints to win 8-7 despite being ridden for 3:26 up to that point. The 2017 All-American was very offensive at the Datronics Open to start his season, putting up 11 points per match, but could not score in a 3-0 loss to Nick Piccininni last weekend.

Zeke Moisey is very clearly injured this year, not wrestling the Virginia match, barely scraping by Antonio Minnino 8-7 and losing 5-2 to Cole Verner. Last time he was in Vegas, he went 4-2 as a sophomore at West Virginia and failed to place. It would not surprise me if we saw a less than 100% Moisey on November 30th.

Looking at some sleepers and landmines, Verner certainly represents one. He made the NJCAA finals at Western Wyoming in 2016 and placed third a year later. After going 14-3 on his redshirt year, his win over Moisey vaulted him into the rankings.

Schwarm's quarterfinal win over Ryan Millhof last year was one of the most bizarre and controversial matches I've ever seen. He is an absolute bear on top, with two pins in his two matches already this year, and is one of the few healthy studs on UNI's roster right now.

Rico Montoya started the year ranked at 133, but dropped down a weight. His head coach was an NCAA champ who put Trey Andrews in the semis a couple years ago, so Montoya could really mess some people's lives up this weekend. Gabe Townsell has big move potential, but has several close/overtime losses to guys in this field.

Christian Moody has a number of wins against ranked foes and placed eighth here last year. Drew Hildebrandt did not place last year, but his losses were to Hayes and Mattin, the latter of whom he just beat in the dual. Brent Fleetwood is 6-0 on the year and has wins over Rivera from the Wildcat's freshman year.

Really curious to see Sidney Flores in action, he won the National Collegiate Open and is built to upset guys at a tournament like this. Tyshawn White is always fun to watch and will be competing for Clarion. Colby Smith came down from 141 last season and is 2-0 so far.

Nomad's Picks

1. Sebastian Rivera, Northwestern

2. Ronnie Bresser, Oregon State 

3. Sean Russell, Minnesota 

4. Louie Hayes, Virginia

133 Pounds

Contenders

#2 Nick Suriano, Rutgers: 5-0

#3 Stevan Micic, Michigan: 2-0

#5 Luke Pletcher, Ohio State: 7-0

#7 Ethan Lizak, Minnesota: 6-1

Dark Horses

#10 John Erneste, Missouri: 2-0

#11 Dylan Duncan, Illinois: 0-0

#12 Korbin Myers, Virginia Tech: 5-2

#13 Montorie Bridges, Wyoming: 8-3

#14 Josh Terao, American: 0-0

#15 Cam Sykora, ND State: 7-0

#16 Colin Valdiviez, Northwestern: 0-2

#17 Micky Phillippi, Pittsburgh: 2-0

#18 Sean Nickell, CSU Bakersfield: 7-3

#20 Tucker Sjomeling, Nebraska: 6-2

After seeing the completely absurd list of guys who will be at 133, our own Christian Pyles kicked off the CKLV content with his own little missive on the weight.

There's a clear top four in Micic, Suriano, Pletcher, and Lizak, all of whom are in the Big Ten and each will hit at least one of the other three one more time before the conference tournament. So nothing will be set in stone after this weekend, but you'll be in pretty good shape seed wise by picking up the title.

The semi between Pletcher and Micic was one of the more unforgettable matches from 2017. But it appeared to look like a fluke after Micic wound up beating Pletcher the next three times they met: 7-4 in the dual, 11-4 at Big Tens, and 8-4 in the national tournament. Micic had to pull out of the world championships with an injury, so hopefully he's back to 100% after appearing in the Wolverines' first two duals of the year.

The thought of his matchup with Suriano is extremely exciting, though the Rutgers junior will have to get by one of Pletcher or Ethan Lizak in the semis first. An NCAA finalist down at 125 this past March, Suriano has picked up bonus in each of his first five matches but has yet to see anyone ranked, let alone the caliber of these three.

After a close first match with Casey Cobb of Navy, it appeared we were in store for another year like Pletcher had last year, in which he won nearly every match but had just four bonus point wins. Yet he's already exceeded that with six bonus wins so far, five against D1 opponents. Keeping that up will be crucial for Ohio State in both this tournament and in his native Pittsburgh in a few months.

Lizak came in as the top seed at 125 last year, but lost to Taylor LaMont in the quarterfinals before ultimately getting third. He's only lost to Daton Fix this year but is good enough on top to beat any of the three guys ranked above him here.

Josh Terao made the finals a year ago but has yet to wrestle this season. Duncan also hasn't wrestled, so they could bring the total down to a dozen ranked guys. It's hard to judge where Erneste and Phillippi are with only two matches each under their belt, but both do have wins over ranked guys in Korbin Myers and Sean Nickell, respectively.

Myers placed sixth as the five seed here a year ago, and went through an absolute gauntlet to do so. Montorie Bridges didn't place after falling to Pletcher in the round of 16 and Austin DeSanto in the bloodround. Bridges has struggled with three losses already, but wasn't an All-American by mistake this past March.

A two-time qualifier, Cam Sykora is coming into his own this season and looks primed to make a deep run. He's one of Valdiviez's two losses this season, as the Wildcat is still looking for his first win.

Tucker Sjomeling got teched by Lizak at the Daktronics, so he's not likely to land in the top four. But his win over Bridges in the dual showed an ability to knock off highly ranked guys and put points on the board, the kind of landmine you don't want to see on day two in Vegas.

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An easy sleeper pick is Brian Courtney, who was #40 on the 2017 Big Board and is down to his right weight after being 141 during his redshirt season. He had a tight 7-5 loss to Bridges in their dual and will frustrate just about anyone with his scrambling ability.

Another is Purdue senior Ben Thornton, who at 10-1 on the year has likely shaken off any potential early season rust that guys who've wrestled fewer than five matches might have. Thornton didn't place last season after getting knocked out by Zach Sherman.

Speaking of Sherman, there are two interesting roster battles at this weight. Sherman beat Gary Wayne Harding at the Hokie Open, yet it's been James Szymanski in all three duals for the Tar Heels. If he's UNC's entry here, that would mean Sherman and Harding are missing a major opportunity to improve their seed for NCAAs and potentially earn themselves a ranking.

The other roster battle is at Cornell, where the Big Red will be entering Charles Tucker. He beat Vito Arujau at the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open and appears to be their starter going forward. He'll be hard pressed to hit double digits in any matches, but good luck finishing takedowns on him.

Nomad's Picks

1. Stevan Micic, Michigan 

2. Nick Suriano, Rutgers  

3. Luke Pletcher, Ohio State  

4. Ethan Lizak, Minnesota

141 Pounds

Contenders

#2 Joey McKenna, Ohio State

#3 Jaydin Eierman, Missouri

#5 Mitch McKee, Minnesota

#7 Michael Carr, Illinois

In The Mix

#8 Matt Findlay, Utah Valley State

#10 Chad Red, Nebraska

#11 Josh Alber, Northern Iowa

#15 Don Demas, Oklahoma

#16 Nicholas Gil, Navy

#18 Nate Limmex, Purdue

#19 Kanen Storr, Michigan

#20 Yahya Thomas, Northwestern

Sammy Krivus, Virginia

Sam Turner, Wyoming

Last year the big story to come out of Vegas in this division was the emergence of Yianni Diakomihalis as a force to be reckoned with. The freshman Cornellian won the weight class, going through Wyoming's Bryce Meredith, the previous season's national runner-up, in the semifinals.

Cornell will be back in Vegas, but Yianni is easing himself back into competition after an offseason of rehab by entering the Mat-Town Open instead. Spoiler alert: Yianni won the Mat-Town Open. 

As such, the two likeliest candidates to walk away with the 2018 CKLV 141-pound crown are Joey McKenna and Jaydin Eierman. McKenna was upset by a surging Eierman in the bloodround of the 2017 NCAA tournament. But McKenna got his revenge in the third-place match of the 2018 tournament. It will be their rubber match, at least in folkstyle, if these two see each other in Vegas. McKenna also beat Eierman in the finals of the 2018 U.S. Open in freestyle, for what it's worth. 

No matter the style, the funky Eierman and the fundamental McKenna are a fascinating contrast in styles, and two of the best young lightweight talents in American. 

Mitch McKee could also smash his way into the finals. The Minnesota brawler has never looked better, now up a weight class from the previous two years. The true junior finally got past his folkstyle nemesis, Kaid Brock, earlier this month. Don't be surprised if McKee crashes the party at the top of the podium.

Michael Carr is another one capable of running the table at this weight. Although he's 0-1 on the season, that single loss was a 12-10 shootout with Eierman. Carr's got plenty of funk in his style to match Eierman, so even if he falls short in a potential rematch, it will one of the matchups to circle in the bracket. 

Watch Mitch McKee finally beat Kaid Brock in folkstyle:

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Chad Red will look to improve on his fourth-place finish from last year, but he's currently mired in an early-season rut, having dropped two matches already, including one to Matt Findlay. Findlay is trying to make the Utah Valley fans forget that they will likely be without the services of Taylor LaMont this season. Besides the win over All-American Red, Findlay scored a convincing victory over Wisconsin's Tristan Moran. 

Josh Alber was a CKLV finalist last year, but if you couldn't tell from the number of ranked guys on this list, it's going to be a tall order to repeat that accomplishment. Alber is in his final season and has yet to make the podium in March despite qualifying three times.

If you're looking for action, make sure you put your notifications on for Dom Demas. That guy looks for the high flying upper body attacks early and often. 

Nic Gil and Nate Limmex are two veterans that are looking to turn that corner and make noise in the postseason. The CKLV will be a great test to see how ready they both are to make that jump. 

And if I want this preview to make deadline I'll have to elide my comments regarding the rest of the field, but just know that everyone else on the list (and plenty more who enter) are extremely rad dudes whose matches will be thoroughly entertaining.  

Spey's Spredictions

1. Joey McKenna, Ohio State

2. Mitch McKee, Minnesota

3. Jaydin Eierman, Missouri

4. Matt Findlay, Utah Valley

149 Pounds

Contenders

#2 Micah Jordan, Ohio State

#3 Anthony Ashnault, Rutgers

#4 Grant Leeth, Missouri

In The Mix

#6 Max Thomsen, Northern Iowa

#8 Brock Zacherl. Clarion

#9 Mitch Finesilver, Duke

#10 Austin O'Connor, North Carolina

#13 Tommy Thorn, Minnesota

#15 Josh Heil, Campbell

#17 Ryan Blees, Virginia Tech

#18 Russell Rohlfing, CSU-Bakersfield

#20 Jared Prince, Navy

Kristian Olivas, Fresno State

Frank Garcia, Binghampton

Davion Jeffries, Oklahoma

Jake Thompson, Western Wyoming

If the banner pic didn't tip you off, this is the weight class I'm most jazzed about, because of the three-way showdown between Micah Jordan, Anthony Ashnault, and Grant Leeth. 

Sure, #1-ranked Matt Kolodzik will not be in Vegas, but we've already seen Ashnault vs Kolodzik four times (they're 2-2) and Leeth vs Kolodzik once (Kolodzik won 4-3 in the 2018 NCAA quarterfinals). But Micah, Anthony, and Grant? They've all never wrestled each other in college. Will Schnaulty mob? Will Micah manhandle? With Leeth lambaste? We shall soon find out!

Amazingly, both Ashnault and Leeth started their college careers in 2014, while Jordan is the relative newcomer, having begun in 2015. Leeth, thanks to NCAA injury waivers, somehow still has two more years of eligibility. But hey, who are we to complain about more Grant Leeth wrestling in the NCAA? 

Watch Micah Jordan advance in the semifinals of last year's CKLV over Josh Shields up at 157-pounds:

Speaking of rejoicing in guys wrestling in the NCAA, All-American Max Thomsen will be back in action for the first time this season. Hooray!

You also have two veterans who are looking for their first trip to the podium in Mitch Finesilver and Brock Zacherl. Both are reluctant members of the three-time qualifiers, zero-time All-Americans club, hoping to not join an even more ignominious group by going 0-4 at NCAAs.

Redshirt freshman Austin O'Connor is hoping to do more than just qualify for the NCAA tournament in his first attempt. The rangy Illinois native is off to an excellent start this fall after a very solid redshirt campaign.

Tommy Thorn is the last of five All-Americans to be discussed. He will be joined by eight other national qualifiers in our group of contenders. And not to be left out is Jake Thompson of the Junior College powerhouse, Western Wyoming.

Spey's Spredictions

1. Anthony Ashnault, Rutgers

2. Micah Jordan, Ohio State

3. Grant Leeth, Missouri

4. Austin O'Connor, North Carolina

157 Pounds

Contenders

#3 Alec Pantaleo, Michigan

#4 Tyler Berger, Nebraska

#5 Ke-Shawn Hayes, Ohio State

#6 Ryan Deakin, Northwestern

In The Mix

#7 Kennedy Monday, North Carolina

#8 Steve Bleise, Minnesota

#10 Taleb Rahimi, Pittsburgh

#11 Paul Fox, Stanford

#13 Justin Thomas, Oklahoma

#17 Hunter Willits, Oregon State

#18 Griffin Parriott, Purdue

#20 John Van Brill, Rutgers

BC LaPrade, Virginia Tech

Jarrett Jacques, Missouri

Eric Barone, Illinois

Samuel Freeman, Western Wyoming

Matt Malcom, Nebraska-Kearney

Alec Pantelo is one of five 2017 CKLV champs making a return trip to Vegas. Pletcher at 133, McFadden at 174 (the 165-pound champ in 2017), Myles Martin at 184 and Kollin Moore at 197 are the other four returning titlists.

Pantaleo is 2-0 against the next highest ranked competitor, Tyler Berger, both wins coming by the score of 9-3. Pantaleo is also 4-0 against Micah Jordan, who won his challenge matches against teammates Ke-Shawn Hayes, forcing Hayes up a weight class to where he is entered at CKLV. 

Always a big move threat, Pantaleo brings a terrifying combination of strength and speed to the mat. Berger and Hayes have a dangerous set of skills of their own, but they'll have to avoid giving up a feet-to-back against Pantelo if they want to unseat the reigning champ. 

Another wrestler with a unique arsenal is Ryan Deakin and his condor-like wingspan. Deakin came up just short in his All-American quest last season as a redshirt freshman, but was rock solid all season long, losing only seven times, with four of those coming to Brandon Sorenson and Zain Retherford. Expect Deakin to be very much in the mix this season.

Kennedy Monday has the long and lanky frame that can cause so many problems. It's hard to prepare for his skillset when so few people possess Monday's ability and physical composition. I'm hoping we see Monday and Pantaleo in the semifinals.

Bleise and Rahmani are two vets who have been to multiple NCAAs but have yet to break through to the final eight. Rahmani has a funky, disorienting style, whereas Bleise is more prone to straight on smashing his opponents into pieces. Unfortunately, a broken hand may keep Bleise out of action in Vegas, although he did beat Andrew Shomers with the same broken hand, so fingers crossed!

Paul Fox is an All-American and bloodround finisher in his two trips to the NCAAs. Luke Weiland got as far as the round of 16 in his first NCAA tournament in Cleveland. Willits and Parriott are two young talents looking for the first trip to the Big Dance and are not to be underestimated. 

John Van Brill will try to get himself back on track after getting derailed earlier this season at the Journeymen Fall Collegiate Classic that saw him drop two matches to unranked wrestlers. 

Two more to keep your eye on are national qualifier Eric Barone and highly esteemed true freshman Jarrett Jacques. Lastly, be on the lookout for Samuel Freeman, another junior college standout from Western Wyoming, and Matt Malcolm, who is holding it down for DII Nebraska-Kearney. 

Spey's Spredictions

1. Alec Pantaleo, Michigan

2. Ryan Deakin, Northwestern

3. Tyler Berger, Nebraska

4. Kennedy Monday, North Carolina

165 Pounds

Contenders

#5 Logan Massa, Michigan: 2-0

#6 Branson Ashworth, Wyoming: 10-1

#8 Bryce Steiert, Northern Iowa: 4-1

#10 Isaiah White, Nebrasak: 1-3

Dark Horses

#11 Andrew Fogarty, ND State: 6-1

#13 Demetrius Romero, Utah Valley: 4-1

#14 Joey Gunther, Illinois: 5-1

#15 Connor Flynn, Missouri: 2-1

#16 Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech: 5-1

#17 Ebed Jarrell, Drexel: 8-1

#18 Jake Wentzel, Pittsburgh: 1-1

#19 Jonathan Viruet, Brown: 8-0

A lot of what caused Logan Massa to not place last year at NCAAs can be drawn back to his injury at CKLV. The top seed, he cruised into Friday night's quarterfinals with two techs and a pin. But just 48 seconds into his match with Evan Wick, Massa let out a scream after injuring his leg trying to defend a shot on the edge. He would finish the match, but wasn't quite the same the rest of the season. The Michigan junior opened as a -150 favorite on BetDSI.

Wyoming senior Branson Ashworth could be the two seed coming in, fresh off his second victory over Chandler Rogers. His CKLV last year ended early after falling in the first round to Zac Carson and then losing 4-2 to Isaiah White in the bloodround. You get him in a field bet, so if you believe in the Cowboy, lay some money down! Color me interested in a semifinal between him and Big 12 foe Steiert.

Bryce Steiert redshirted last season and only wrestled 11 matches, but one of those was a win over Chance Marsteller. That gives him a common opponent over Ashworth, who lost to Marsteller at Journeymen. Steiert's only loss thus far was to Wick in the finals of the Cyclone Open. He started off +200, behind only Massa.

White is just 1-3 on the season, with his most recent loss coming to Ashworth, avenging the CKLV loss mentioned above. The junior is the highest returning placer at the weight, having finished third last year. Nebraska's got four guys you can bet on, but is the +250 enough to sway fans who saw some of the early season losses?

Fogarty is intriguing as the only other returning placer besides White. He did get a little help, as he picked up a med forfeit over Massa in the bloodround and then a controversial win over Anthony Valencia right after that. Finishing in the top-six again would cement himself in the rankings.

Mekhi Lewis, the U23 world champion, is the fourth and final guy available to bet on at this weight. But he took an early loss to Connor Flynn, who in turn lost to Joey Gunther. If things fall like that again, Lewis wouldn't place, but I don't see it playing out quite like that.

Demetrius Romero could absolutely be considered a landmine and is looking to place after going 4-2 last time out. I'm also kind of hoping to see a rematch between Ebed Jarrell and White, a match Jarrell won 6-3 at Journeymen. Ashworth isn't the only man in the field with a win over Rogers, as Jonathan Viruet beat him in the first round at NCAAS.

This weight is a little short on dark horses, but Rutgers freshman Stephan Glasgow might be the one you let it ride on. He was #26 on the 2017 Big Board but is still a true freshman as he took a post-graduate year. Along with Kaleb Romero, they represent the two most intriguing guys at this weight who are two years out of high school.

Nomad's Picks

1. Logan Massa, Michigan 

2. Bryce Steiert, Northern Iowa  

3. Branson Ashworth, Wyoming 

4. Mekhi Lewis, Virginia Tech

174 Pounds

Contenders

#3 Myles Amine, Michigan: 2-0

#4 Daniel Lewis, Missouri: 3-0

#9 Taylor Lujan, Northern Iowa: 5-0

#11 Mikey Labriola, Nebraska: 9-1

#13 Johnny Sebastian, Northwestern: 2-0

#15 Dylan Lydy, Purdue: 8-2

#16 Brandon Womack, Cornell: 7-1

#18 Matt Finesilver, Duke: 6-1

#20 Kimball Bastian, Utah Valley: 3-3

It was at this tournament last year when I realized Myles Amine could beat Bo Jordan. The Wolverine scored the first takedown and nearly made the finals, but ultimately lost and took third. With Jordan graduated and Arizona State not coming, that leaves Amine as the highest ranked wrestler and highest returning placer, as well as the odds on favorite.

He's got wins over the next two seeds in Daniel Lewis and Taylor Lujan. The win over Lewis came in the third place match at NCAAs. In that match, the three-time All-American Lewis rode Amine out for the entire second period, but Amine got a late takedown in the third period and another in sudden victory for the 4-2 win. Amine picked up four takedowns and a reversal in the 11-9 win over Lujan in the third place match here last year.

The common theme for both of Lujan's matches with Lewis and Amine is points. In a dual at Northern Iowa, Lewis came out on top in a 13-10 barnburner. It's impossible not to mention Lewis' top game, especially in a field missing some other highly ranked guys.

Lujan can be a rather frustrating figure. He's unquestionably one of the most exciting wrestlers in the country, with a varied offensive arsenal highlighted by his boot scoot (which he hit against Zahid to take the lead in their semi last year). Putting up 9 and 10 points against Amine and Lewis respectively is no easy feat, but giving up 11 and 13 is not a recipe for success. I have no idea what to expect from Lujan other than that I hope to be matside or on the call for every one of his matches.

My interest is piqued by Dylan Lydy. Purdue in general is feisty, and yes I am aware a few of their starters lost to Iowa backups on Saturday. But Lydy beat Amine in a dual in January and beat Labriola twice at Midlands. That guarantees him nothing of course, but it speaks to the kind of pain he can be to this field.

When he's on, it's very easy to see Labriola's AA level potential. But then a match like his loss to Ryan Christensen happens and you have to pump the brakes a little. For now though, give me the guy who can get multiple takedowns in each period of a match to do well this weekend.

Johnny Sebastian, Grant Leeth, and Micky Phillippi can all have a medical redshirt party in Vegas. Sebastian is one of several Wildcats ranked outside the Top-10 of their weight who can score good team points this weekend. Combine that with high finishes from Sebastian Rivera, Ryan Deakin, and Conan Jennings, and Northwestern may wind up looking good in the team standings.

Matt Finesilver and Kimball Bastian were a combined 1-4 at CKLV last year. But they both qualified for NCAAs and are ranked now, so their bracket placement is important now.

Unlike 165, there are several notable sleepers in this field. Even in losses, Hayden Hastings of Wyoming is making waves as someone college coaches are paying attention to. He currently has a losing record, but people enjoy watching Anthony Mantanona. Devin Skatzka is a two-time qualifier who looks improved in his new program.

A bit of news for the team race in that Ohio State is going with redshirt freshman Ethan Smith over #12 Te'Shan Campbell. The former FloNats champ Smith beat Campbell 8-5 in the finals of the Ohio Intercollegiate Open. That reversed 3-1 and 4-2 decisions for Campbell over Smith in the wrestle-offs last month.

Nomad's Picks

1. Myles Amine, Michigan  

2. Daniel Lewis, Missouri

3. Mikey Labriola, Nebraska  

4. Taylor Lujan, Northern Iowa

184 Pounds

Contenders

#1 Myles Martin, Ohio State: 1-0

#2 Emery Parker, Illinois: 6-0

#3 Taylor Venz, Nebraska: 5-0

#4 Zack Zavatsky, Virginia Tech: 5-0

Dark Horses

#8 Max Dean, Cornell: 2-0

#9 Chip Ness, North Carolina: 5-2

#10 Drew Foster, Northern Iowa: 5-0

#13 Nino Bonaccorsi, Pittsburgh: 1-1

#16 Louie DePrez, Binghamton: 3-1

#18 Christian LaFragola, Brown: 4-0

Woah, Nelly. We nearly hit a Royal Flush with each of the top four ranked guys coming. The one with the most to gain is clearly Zack Zavatsky.

With the other three being in the Big Ten, finishing worse can be mitigated by having more opportunities to pick up big wins and even get revenge in duals. But if Zavatsky wins, he's got a much more clear path to the #1 seed at NCAAs, in his hometown of Pittsburgh. ZZ Top has never wrestled Emery Parker, but he did beat Myles Martin here two years ago during Martin's up and down sophomore season. He's 0-2 against Venz, including a loss at CKLV last year.

Parker was the ultimate road warrior at the national tournament in Cleveland, losing his first round match before wrestling back to get third. The Illinois senior comes in ranked second and also has a win over Martin at NCAAs in 2017. He was 2-1 against Venz last season.

This tournament last year was when people really started taking notice of Venz. He came in as the 13-seed, but pinned his way into the semis, which included beating Drew Foster and Jordan Ellingwood. Then on the backside he beat Ricky Robertson and Zavatsky to get third.

But let's get real. This is Myles' weight, both at CKLV and in the country. Even with Nos. 2-4 in the bracket, two of whom have already beaten him, he's a -400 favorite, the biggest favorite in any weight class. In fact, no one else is even at -300. Martin is  the only NCAA champ in the field, and the only guy to make multiple finals. Can he lose? Sure, but I'm not picking it. The only concern is him coming off U23s, but that was a few weeks ago.

The rest of this weight looks great, including All-Americans Max Dean, Chip Ness, and Drew Foster. What's more? How about junior world teamer Louie DePrez, as well as the guy he's wrestled 6,000 times in non-stop shooter Nino Bonaccorsi.

Dean is 1-2 against Ness and didn't place last year, but the losses were to Zavatsky and Foster. Ness took a loss to Hunter Bolen in the Hokie Open, which is more in line with his overall season last year. Foster was essentially the same guy all year in 2017 and 2018, but had a better last tournament in the former.

Rutgers entered Jordan Pagano instead of Nick Gravina, so 184 loses a ranked guy there. CJ LaFragola does bring the ranked total to double digits, but Mizzou is going with Dylan Wisman instead of #17 Canten Marriott.

There's definitely a ton of upside to be found in Jelani Embree, but he might not be able to place in this field. The guy he lost to at the Michigan State Open in Kayne McCallum will be here, another unranked sleeper to watch out for. Another couple Big Ten boys in Owen Webster and Max Lyon could create some problems in this bracket, as well.

Nomad's Picks

1. Myles Martin, Ohio State  

2. Taylor Venz, Nebraska  

3. Emery Parker, Illinois

4. Zack Zavatsky, Virginia Tech

197 Pounds

The Favorite

#3 Kollin Moore, Ohio State

Contenders

#8 Nathan Traxler, Stanford

#9 Stephen Loiseau, Drexel

#10 Christian Brunner, Purdue

In The Mix

#12 Corey Griego, Oregon State

#15 Jacob Woodley, Oklahoma

#16 Jackson Striggow, Michigan

#17 Tom Sleigh, Virginia Tech

#18 Eric Schultz, Nebraska

Ben Honis, Cornell

Sawyer Root, The Citadel

Tanner Orndorff, Utah Valley

Matt Correnti, Rutgers

Greg Bulsak, Clarion

Kollin Moore is one of five returning champs expected in Las Vegas and the headliner of the 197-pound division. Moore had some close battles in the first few rounds of last year's CKLV but then got on a roll starting in the quarters and capped off his run with a first period pin of NCAA finalists Jared Haught. 

Moore returned to Columbus with a silver medal from the U23 Freestyle World Championships, so the Cliff Keen Invitational will be his reintroduction to folkstyle. Luckily, Moore has attacks from neutral that work in both styles. Moore's fireman's carry is particularly deadly, as Haught can attest all too well.

Three top-10 wrestlers are the leading contenders to upset the Buckeye favorite. Nathan Traxler settled for seventh place last year in Vegas. He'll be favored to improve, as will Stephen Loiseau, who may not be the tallest 197-pounder but is quite possibly the funkiest. 

Christian Brunner, like Kollin Moore, is also returning from the U23 World Championships and ready to get back into the folkstyle season, rounds out our trio of contenders.

Corey Griego only wrestled two matches at the Navy Classic. Hopefully he's able to compete in a full complement of matches in Vegas, as the three-time qualifier looks to put together his final collegiate campaign. 

Jacob Woodley is one of the younger wrestlers in the tournament, but he's not to be overlooked. The Pittsburgh native has the potential to win a low of awards by the time his career is over. On the other end of the eligibility spectrum, Tom Sleigh already has his undergraduate degree from Bucknell and transferred to Virginia Tech in the offseason to pursue a graduate degree and compete in his final year of eligibility. The savvy vet will be one of the most experienced and accomplished 197-pounders in Vegas. 

Both Jackson Striggow and Eric Schultz have at least one more year of eligibility left after this season. Schultz was in Vegas last year but did not ascend the podium, a deficiency he will look to remedy this weekend. 

Ben Honis, filling in for All-American Ben Darmstadt, who is out for the season with an injury, is one of the most dangerous non-ranked competitors in the field. He will be joined by four other unranked national qualifiers who capable of tripping up the ranked competitors in the bracket. 

Spey's Spredictions

1. Kollin Moore, Ohio State

2. Stephen Loiseau, Drexel

3. Nathan Traxler, Ohio State

4. Jacob Woodley, Oklahoma

285 Pounds

The Favorite

#3 Gable Steveson, Minnesota

Contenders

#9 Conan Jennings, Northwestern

#11 Jeremy Sweany, Cornell

#12 Cory Daniel, North Carolina

#13 Matt Stencel, Central Michigan

#15 Tate Orndorff, Utah Valley

#17 AJ Nevills, Fresno State

#19 Joey Goodhart, Drexel

In The Mix

Zach Elam, Missouri

Chase Singletary, Ohio State

Demetrius Thomas, Pittsburgh

Brandon Metz, North Dakota State

Patrick Grayson, Nebraska

Christian Colucci, Rutgers

Ian Butterbrodt, Brown

Duece Rachal, Illinois

Despite being a true freshman, Gable Steveson may also be the biggest lock to win an individual title of anyone at the Cliff Keen Invitational. With all due respect to the rest of the field, none of them can match Steveson's combination of nimble feet and pure power. Indeed, it is Steveson's ability to go toe-to-toe physically with the very best senior level wrestlers in the nation that makes him a favorite when considering a field that contains no All-Americans. In fact, it appears Vegas will not even be setting a line nor accepting wagers on the heavyweight division. 

So who will have the daunting task of stopping Steveson? All of the ranked contenders have qualified for the NCAA Tournament at least once, so they have experience competing in a multiple day tournament of this magnitude. Only Jeremy Sweany placed at the CKLV last year, earning an eighth-place medal. The senior from California has one last chance at becoming the first heavyweight All-American in Cornell program history.

Conan Jennings is also in his senior season. He's looking to place in the final eight for the first in his career, but Northwestern has had heavyweight All-Americans before (looking at you, four-time AA Mike McMullan). Cory Daniel, also a senior, is a two-time qualifier. Junior Tanner Orndorff has similarly made two trips to nationals in his career. Ditto for senior Joey Goodhart. AJ Nevills is a mere sophomore, who gets three more cracks at wrestling at nationals. 

There are several young heavies that will be worth keeping an eye on in the 285-pound bracket. Zach Elam is the only true freshman of the bunch, but he's already in the Missouri lineup and has three wins over fellow D1 starters against no losses. Brandon Metz is a redshirt freshman and is poised to anchor the Bison lineup for the next four years. And Chase Singletary is in an interesting position at Ohio State. While Kyle Snyder is a tough act to follow, Singletary is 10-0 already on the season. Singletary is a redshirt freshman, so it remains to be seen what the long-term plan is in Columbus with the #1 recruit in the high school class of 2019 on the way in Daniel Kirkvliet, but the Buckeyes have some flexibility with redshirts, greyshirts, and Olympic shirts all possible for Kirkvliet. In any event, it's a good problem to have and Singletary is a fun heavyweight to watch.

Demetrius Thomas is another heavyweight to watch. Thomas comes to Pitt with junior eligibility having spent the last two season at William Baptist University where he was a two-time finalist and one-time NAIA champ. 

Spey's Spredictions

1. Gable Steveson, Minnesota

2. Matt Stencel, Central Michigan

3. Zach Elam, Missouri

4. Demetrius Thomas, Pittsburgh