The wrestling team competed in the B1G tournament over the weekend in Evanston, crowning 2 champions, taking 2nd in the team race and sending 9 of 10 to the NCAA tournament in 2 weeks in Philly.
As stated there are 10 weight classes, 33 wrestlers qualify for the NCAA tournament, the top 8 earn AA status and the top 4 teams get team trophies. Qualification is complicated but the selection committee decides how many from each conference at each weight should qualify, leaving 5 or so at large bids. The B1G usually gets from 7-12 qualifiers per weight class.
How we did:
125# SR Caleb Smith lost in the finals taking 2nd and should get a 4-6 seed in the tourney. He has a very good show to repeat AA. Long term, NU has two quality backups, rFr Kohler and Fr Lauraldsen. One of them will take over next year and the other will likely challenge at 133.
133# SO Jacob VanDee was hurt and took 8th, still earning a NCAA berth. I thought he had a chance to AA, but he’ll have a hard seed (14-18) so it will be tough. This will be his 2nd trip to the NCAAs, and hopefully he can get to the round of 12 (also known as the blood round, winner is an AA). Next year he will be pushed by one of the 125# guys.
141# JR Brock Hardy (2 time AA) took 1st, defeating the returning NCAA champ from OSU. This is a brutal weight (both NCAA finalists return (OSU/PSU) as well as the champ from 2 years (Olympic redshirt). Hardy will have a very high seed (1 or 2) but really there are 5-6 who can win it. I like his chances to be high on the podium. Hardy returns next year, though may move to 149, leaving an opening possibly filled by incoming FR Jake Hockaday (4 time Indiana state champ)
149# SR Ridge Lovett (2 time AA, 1 time finalist), was also B1G champion. Lovett solidified the #2 seed, 2nd to a kid from Vtech, who beat Lovett in a very close match in Vegas. I expect Lovett to be in the finals and hope to see a National Champ at 149. Next year, I expect Hardy to move up, but maybe a backup or incoming FR takes over.
157# SO Antrel Taylor was 4th. He was an AA last year at 165 while Payton Robb was an AA (3 times) for NU at 157. Taylors 4th was a disappointment, the B1G f**d up the seeding, putting PSU at #2, MD at #1 and Taylor at #3. The PSU guy was ranked #1 nationally. In the 3rd place match Taylor lost to Purdue (who Taylor beat the day before and the week before). That will drop Taylor to a seed of 6-8, but he should still AA. I expect Taylor to AA at NU for the next 3 years.
165# FR Chris Minto came in ranked in the top 10 and seeded 3rd but ended up at 8. He still qualifies for the NCAA tourney. His seed will drop to the mid teens, so AA will be hard, but he can do it. This is his 1st year at NU so he will get better.
174# JR Lenny Pinto, 2 time qualifier but has not placed, Pinto was in the finals of the B1G and should earn a top 8 seed. I expect he can AA, but Pinto has had some head-scratching losses over the years.
184# JR Silas Alred, also a 2 time qualifier and 0 AA, Alred took 6th, while being the #3 seed. He will be a 10-15 seed, and will need some upsets to earn his first AA medal.
197# FR Camden McDaniel, took 5th place with an 18-11 record. The record isn’t very good but he has gone up against almost everyone in the top 10. The coaches thought so highly of McDaniel they moved Minto/Pinto/Alred down a weight class to make room for McDaniel. I doubt he will AA this year, but I hope he can earn some points and push everyone hard next year.
285# SO Harley Andrews took 12th place and was the only starter to fail to qualify for the NCAAs. He was on the bubble going in and had a poor meet. I expect the coaches will try to pick up another veteran at this weight next year (there is at least 1 very good guy out there, but some schools have a lot of money). NU does have a very good incoming FR Cade Zoala from Omaha but he is also undersized (both Andrews and Zoala wrestled 215# in HS, giving up 50-70 pounds to the bigger guys).
The NCAA tournament is in Philly over the weekend of March 20th. I really hope to see NU crown a champion (there have only been 8 over the years) and earn a team trophy (top 4 teams) which happened in the early 2000s last time.
Andy