Southern Scuffle Upperweight Preview & Predictions
Southern Scuffle Upperweight Preview & Predictions
Breaking down the big boys who will be scrapping at the 2021 Southern Scuffle wrestling tournament.
It's nearly 2022, and what better way to put 2021 in the rear view than by watching a rad wrestling tournament. Thankfully, the Southern Scuffle is here with another edition of this annual tradition.
Scuffle Lightweight Preview | Scuffle Middleweight Preview
184 Pounds
Title Contenders
#8 Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech
#12 Jon Loew, Cornell
These two just recently battled it out at the Journeymen Collegiate Duals in Niceville, Florida. Loew won 7-5 in sudden victory, announcing himself as an All-American contender by taking out Bolen, last year's sixth-placer who spent all but the final week of the year ranked either #1 or #2.
It's no guarantee we get a rematch between these two in Chattanooga, but they would be favorites against anyone else in the field. Loew having an earlier loss to Taylor Venz this season keeps him from being higher in the rankings but it would be very much a toss-up if there was another meeting between Loew and Bolen.
Watch Loew take third at this season's CKLV:
Other Contenders
#16 Jeremiah Kent, Missouri
#21 Layne Malczewski, Michigan State
#24 Kyle Cochran, Maryland
Cade King, South Dakota State
Colton Hawks, Missouri
Three other ranked entrants will vie for podium spots with another honorable mention (King) and a junior world team member (Hawks). I'm especially interested to see how Hawks fares, as has he hasn't seen much folkstyle action in the last two seasons.
It will also be a great opportunity to get more results from Cade King at 184, as he started for the Jackrabbits at 174 throughout the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Throw Hawks' teammate, Jeremiah Kent, who finished in the round of 16 in last year's NCAAs, and two veterans like Malczewski and Cochran, and we've got a great opportunity to see where things stand with many quality 184-pounders.
These big tournaments are excellent for finding out those kinds of things!
And this field needs it. It is deep, and there are maybe a dozen or more competitors who could find themselves on a podium step.
Sleepers and Landmines
Jha'Quan Anderson, Gardner-Webb
Isaiah Salazar, Minnesota
Anderson is in his third year at Gardner-Webb. He's got a losing record at the moment but has wrestled a very difficult schedule and qualified for, and won a match at, last season's NCAA championships.
Salazar doesn't have a lot of results on his resume but the fact that two-time All-American Dakota Geer needed sudden victory to beat him in November bodes well for his future with the Gophers.
Every Entrant
#8 Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech
#12 Jon Loew, Cornell
#16 Jeremiah Kent, Missouri
#21 Layne Malczewski, Michigan State
#24 Kyle Cochran, Maryland
#HM Gavin Kane, North Carolina
#HM Cade King, South Dakota St
Colton Hawks, Missouri
Jha'Quan Anderson, Gardner-Webb
Mark Chaid, North Carolina
Sam Fisher, Virginia Tech
Bryan McLaughlin, Drexel
Isaiah Salazar, Minnesota
Matthew Waddell, Chattanooga
Peter Acciardi, Buffalo
Vincent Baker, Duke
Donovon Ball, Penn State
Barrett Blakely, Appalachian State
Brian Bonino, Columbia
Branson Britten, Northern Colorado
Zach Brown, VMI
Anthony Carman, West Virginia
Luke Chakonis, Duke
Kyle Davis, George Mason
Micha DiCarlo, The Citadel
Mason Diel, UA- Little Rock
Judah Duhm, Stanford
Joe Franzese, Columbia
Jacob Hansen, CSU-Bakersfield
Colbey Harlen, Stanford
Gavin Henry, Davidson
Landon Lewis, Chattanooga
Tanner Mendoza, UA- Little Rock
Chase Mielnik, Maryland
Sam Mora, Gardner-Webb
Michael Nelson, North Dakota St
DJ Parker Jr, North Dakota St
Sam Schroeder, Bellarmine
Gavin Stika, Oklahoma St
Josh Stillings, Drexel
Xavier Vasquez, Northern Colorado
Evan Vazquez, Rider
Spey's Spredictions
1) Hunter Bolen; 2) Jon Loew; 3) Colton Hawks; 4) Gavin Kane
197 Pounds
Title Contenders
#6 Rocky Elam, Missouri
Michael Beard, Penn State
Rocky Elam is trying to keep his hot streak going, having placed fifth at the 2021 NCAA Championships and then won the UWW Junior World Championship gold medal over the summer in Ufa, Russia. Standing in his way of a Southern Scuffle title is Penn State's Michael Beard.
The Nittany Lions are keeping most of their starters in State College, but when you've got a bench as deep as Coach Sanderson's, you've got backups that are capable of winning big tournaments. Max Dean may have pole position in the battle to win postseason spot for Penn State, but Beard, a 2021 All-American, will be favored to make the finals in Chattanooga opposite Elam.
Watch highlights of Beard in his bloodround match at the 2021 NCAAs:
Other Contenders
#15 Owen Pentz, North Dakota State
#24 Alan Clothier, Northern Colorado
Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State
Cam Caffey, Michigan State
Michaial Foy, Minnesota
Jaron Smith, Maryland
Sloan, Caffey, Foy and Smith are all honorable mentions in the latest set of NCAA rankings, making 197 one of the deepest fields of registered wrestlers at the Scuffle.
Pentz earned a ranking thanks to his excellent performance at the 2021 NCAA Championship that included a win over Nebraska's Eric Schultz. Pentz will have an opportunity to prove that result was no fluke in Chattanooga.
Clothier is a three-time national qualifier that brings a lot of experience to the table. The same can be said for Sloan and Caffey, who also both made the 2019 UWW Junior World Team. Sloan was the 97kg freestyle rep and Caffey made the team at 87kg in Greco. Neither placed in Tallin, Estonia that year but they both also have Pan-Am junior gold medals to their name.
Foy brings some junior college hardware to the tournament, having placed twice in the NJCAA national championship, winning a title in 2019.
Injuries have hampered Jaron Smith's career at Maryland but the seventh year Terrapin is very capable of making some waves in the Noog.
Sleepers and Landmines
Andrew Stemmet, Stanford
Ben Stemmet, The Citadel
Kaden Russell, Duke
Christian Knop, North Carolina State
I had to include the Stemmet twins, who could meet for the second time this season, having already clashed at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Watch Stemmet vs Stemmet from Las Vegas:
Kaden Russell took out ACC rival Isaac Trumble last season, and Trumble has a few highly ranked names on his victory hitlist.
Trumble trains with Knop, another highly rated recruit that can be found in abundance in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Every Entrant
#6 Rocky Elam, Missouri
#15 Owen Pentz, North Dakota St
#24 Alan Clothier, Northern Colorado
#HM Tanner Sloan, South Dakota St
#HM Cam Caffey, Michigan State
#HM Michaial Foy, Minnesota
#HM Jaron Smith, Maryland
Michael Beard, Penn State
Matt Correnti, Rider
Josh Loomer, CSU-Bakersfield
Kaden Russell, Duke
Max Shaw, North Carolina
Andy Smith, Virginia Tech
Jaxon Smith, Maryland
Jacob Anderson, Rider
Azeem Bell, Rider
Nick Casperson, South Dakota St
Jacob Ferreira, North Carolina St
Jack Flynn, Missouri
Cody Howard, Virginia Tech
Garrett Jones, Minnesota
Christian Knop, North Carolina St
Cade Lautt, North Carolina
Kevin Makosy, Maryland
Sam Mitchell, Buffalo
Jackson Moomau, West Virginia
Mateo Morales, CSU-Bakersfield
Santino Morina, Drexel
Tyler Mousaw, VMI
Anthony Perrine, Gardner-Webb
Brooks Sacharczyk, UA- Little Rock
Eli Sheeren, Buffalo
Andrew Stemmet, Stanford
Ben Stemmet, The Citadel
Asa Terrell, Rider
Sam Wustefeld, Columbia
Spey's Spredictions
1) Michael Beard; 2) Rocky Elam; 3) Cam Caffey; 4) Tanner Sloan
285 Pounds
Title Contenders
#16 Zach Elam, Missouri
#18 Lewis Fernandes, Cornell
#19 Michael Wolfgram, West Virginia
#20 Owen Trephan, North Carolina State
Seth Nevills, Penn State
Deonte Wilson, North Carolina State
Not as many NCAA title contenders at heavyweight (two of them, Mason Parris and Cohlton Schultz, are slated to compete in a dual meet in Austin, Texas on January 3), but still, a solid collection of heavies are scheduled to compete in Tennessee.
Leading the pack is Zach Elam, who has advanced the round of 16 and the bloodround in two trips to the big dance. Challenging him will be a trio of young, ranked, heavyweights, Fernandes, Wolfgram, and Trephan, who are all poised for a breakout performance.
Neither Seth Nevills nor Deonte Wilson are starters for their respective teams, at the moment anyway, but Wilson is a two-time national qualifier, and Nevills was on his way to qualifying in 2020 before injuries kept him from officially making the field. Both could contend for a Scuffle title in the first two days of 2022.
Other Contenders
#22 Brandon Metz, North Dakota State
#23 AJ Nevills, South Dakota State
Hunter Catka, Virginia Tech
Austin Harris, Oklahoma State
Michael McAleavey, The Citadel
Brandon Whitman, North Carolina
The line between 'title contenders' and 'other contenders' is hazy and indistinct, like the twilight between day and night or the dividing line between ankle and foot.
Could Brandon Metz or AJ Nevills challenge for a spot in the 285-pound finals? Naturally! Did we have to draw the line somewhere? I guess! Maybe not? Consider everyone a contender if you prefer!
Anyway, both Metz and Nevills are national qualifiers. AJ can boast of qualifying for two Championships, something younger bro Seth has yet to do (though Seth does have four California high school state championships to AJ's singular state title).
Catka qualified for the 2021 tournament but is redshirting this season as grad transfer Nathan Traxler anchors the Hokie lineup. Austin Harris made the bloodround at last year's national championship but appears to have ceded the starting gig in Stillwater to Luke Surber. Neither Traxler nor Surber is slated to Scuffle in the new year.
Conversely, it appears that Brandon Whitman has seized the starting job at heavyweight for the Tar Heels after missing the postseason in 2021 while Andrew Gunning held down 285 in Chapel Hill. Whitman qualified for the 2019 NCAA tournament down at 197-pounds.
Finally, don't sleep on sixth-year senior Michael McAleavey, who is starting for the fifth year in a row for the Bulldogs of the Citadel, and is attempting to qualify for his second consecutive NCAA tournament.
Watch a match between Hunter Catka and NC State's Tyrie Houghton at this season's GMU Patriot Open:
Sleepers and Landmines
Zachary Schrader, Maryland
Konner Doucet, Oklahoma State
David Szuba, Rider
Scharder has been in and out of the rankings throughout the first two months of the eason. I think the transfer from Cal Baptist could surprise some people.
Doucet is the Cowboy's nominal third-stringer, but that's third in line in Stillwater, not your typical program.
Finally, David Szuba is probably a year or two away from a breakout season, but the talented true freshman from New Jersey should not be overlooked in the meantime.
Every Entrant
#16 Zach Elam, Missouri
#18 Lewis Fernandes, Cornell
#19 Michael Wolfgram, West Virginia
#20 Owen Trephan, North Carolina St
#22 Brandon Metz, North Dakota St
#23 AJ Nevills, South Dakota St
Hunter Catka, Virginia Tech
Austin Harris, Oklahoma St
Seth Nevills, Penn State
Deonte Wilson, North Carolina St
Toby Cahill, Buffalo
Michael McAleavey, The Citadel
Jacob Seely, Northern Colorado
David Szuba, Rider
Robert Winters, Northern Colorado
Jake Andrews, CSU-Bakersfield
Eli Anthony, Drexel
Michael Burchell, Appalachian State
Jonathan Chesser, The Citadel
Nicco Colucci, Rutgers
Dan Conley, Columbia
Isaac Dolph, VMI
Konner Doucet, Oklahoma St
Matthias Ervin, Chattanooga
Brendan Furman, Cornell
Josiah Hill, UA- Little Rock
Tyrie Houghton, North Carolina St
Evans Josh, VMI
Peyton McComas, Gardner-Webb
Bowen McConville, South Dakota St
Peter Ming, Stanford
Jonah Nisenbaum, Duke
Seth Nitzel, Missouri
Seamus O'Malley, Stanford
Abraham Preson, Gardner-Webb
Brayden Ray, Duke
Jacob Sartorio, Appalachian State
Zachary Schrader, Maryland
Harris Solomon, VMI
Jalen Stephens, Columbia
Austin Stith, George Mason
Mitchell Trigg, Davidson
Grayson Walthall, Chattanooga
Brandon Whitman, North Carolina
Brad Wilton, Michigan State
Spey's Spredictions
1) Zach Elam; 2) Owen Trephan; 3) Lewis Fernandes; 4) Seth Nevills