I am sad the season is coming to a close, but excited to see the full 10 members compete one more time together this weekend; depending on how they fair Saturday and Sunday we could see all 10 again in Philadelphia March 20-22. The allocations, seeds, and tentative brackets (pending weigh-ins) have been released; let’s break them down:
125 Garrett Ricks (7 allocations) – will come in unseeded, right now, he is slated to face #6 Lorenzo from OU to open up the tournament. Lorenzo defeated an injured Volk earlier in the year so expect stiff competition. Two wins gets ricks at least into the 7th place match and 3 wins qualifies him for NCAA. He has progressively been getting better after coming out of retirement mid-year. He will have to place top 7 to qualify for NCAA.
133 Stockton O’Brien (6 allocations) - will enter unseeded and have the #1 seed Frost (ISU) to begin his day. Stockton has the throws to pull upsets and compete with this deep 133 field. Three wins gets Stockton qualified. Stockton started the year on fire and would love to see that same run continue this weekend. He will have to place top 6 to qualify for NCAA.
141 Cole Brooks (7 allocations) - unseeded, Cole did himself no favors with the unexpected loss at AFA entering this tournament. He gets #1 Alirez (UNCO) right out of the gate. He did face Alirez about a month ago and scored a really nice double leg takedown. Cole has the firepower to cause some havoc in this bracket. He will have to place top 7 to qualify for NCAA.
149 Gabe Willochel (4 allocations) - will be the 4 seed, originally there were 6 allocations at this weight, however, injuries at other schools have moved it to four. He has a bye to start; this weight is wide-open for the taking for Gabe. May get an at-large to NCAA if not top 4.
157 Jared Hill (7 allocations) - will be the 5 seed. Last year, while at OU, he upset the #1 seed on his way to qualifying for NCAA. He gets a bye out of the gate. May get an at-large if needed for NCAA.
165 Cooper Voorhees (7 allocations) - unseeded but I like his draw with #7 seed Thomsen (UNI) out of the gate. An upset from the get-go I think puts him on a better path if he ends up in the Consi-bracket later in the day. Will have to place top 7 to qualify for NCAA.
174 Riley Davis (6 allocations) - comes in as the #8 seed after entering the line-up later due to injury. This will put him on a collision course with the #1 seed. Riley has the gas tank to press deep into this tournament as well. Will have to place top 6 to qualify for NCAA.
184 Eddie Neitenbach (7 allocations) - enters as the 6 seed in a deep 184 field highlighted by Parker Keckeisen and Dustin Plott. Eddie fought off an injury early in the year and has been steady Eddie (wordplay) ever since. There at times you see the Freshmen come out, but his offense makes him really dangerous. Fringe at-large but should place top 7.
197 Joey Novak (4 allocations) - comes in at the #2 seed behind Luke Surber. He has lost to Luke twice this year once in Stillwater and at CKLV (injury default), however, Joey is entering the tourney on a 13-match winning streak and looks to continue his winning ways. At-large if needed.
HWT Sam Mitchell (4 allocations) - enters as the 8 seed and puts him on a path with Wyatt Hendrickson. He does get a match before, so a win early puts him in a favorable Consi-bracket at HWT if needed. Will have to place top 4 to qualify for NCAA.
Some publications have the Cowboys finishing 8th in the team race. If Wyoming places in their current seeds (excluding bonus points) then you are looking at a 10th place finish. I don’t say this to be a bearer of bad news, actually the opposite, as last year they finished higher than expected and scored 15 more team points then what was projected. The boys came to compete in March last year and I expect the same this weekend. They had a weird period middle of the year after the holidays where the guys seemed off, but time at home has cleared up some of those concerns I had.
Let it fly this weekend boys. There is no reason to hold back; don’t look back in 5- or 10-years thinking did I give it my all those matches. If you give it everything you have and lose then so be it, but don’t leave yourself wondering later down the road. Work your way to Philadelphia and remember you are the only school where an entire state is behind you.
Good Links:
Tentative Brackets actual brackets will be released following weighs HERE
ESPN + Finals will be on ESPNU Sunday evening.
Coach Branch interview on KFBC
Be sure to follow Wyoming Wrestling Twitter for Mat Assignments as they do a really good job at it.
125 Garrett Ricks (7 allocations) – will come in unseeded, right now, he is slated to face #6 Lorenzo from OU to open up the tournament. Lorenzo defeated an injured Volk earlier in the year so expect stiff competition. Two wins gets ricks at least into the 7th place match and 3 wins qualifies him for NCAA. He has progressively been getting better after coming out of retirement mid-year. He will have to place top 7 to qualify for NCAA.
133 Stockton O’Brien (6 allocations) - will enter unseeded and have the #1 seed Frost (ISU) to begin his day. Stockton has the throws to pull upsets and compete with this deep 133 field. Three wins gets Stockton qualified. Stockton started the year on fire and would love to see that same run continue this weekend. He will have to place top 6 to qualify for NCAA.
141 Cole Brooks (7 allocations) - unseeded, Cole did himself no favors with the unexpected loss at AFA entering this tournament. He gets #1 Alirez (UNCO) right out of the gate. He did face Alirez about a month ago and scored a really nice double leg takedown. Cole has the firepower to cause some havoc in this bracket. He will have to place top 7 to qualify for NCAA.
149 Gabe Willochel (4 allocations) - will be the 4 seed, originally there were 6 allocations at this weight, however, injuries at other schools have moved it to four. He has a bye to start; this weight is wide-open for the taking for Gabe. May get an at-large to NCAA if not top 4.
157 Jared Hill (7 allocations) - will be the 5 seed. Last year, while at OU, he upset the #1 seed on his way to qualifying for NCAA. He gets a bye out of the gate. May get an at-large if needed for NCAA.
165 Cooper Voorhees (7 allocations) - unseeded but I like his draw with #7 seed Thomsen (UNI) out of the gate. An upset from the get-go I think puts him on a better path if he ends up in the Consi-bracket later in the day. Will have to place top 7 to qualify for NCAA.
174 Riley Davis (6 allocations) - comes in as the #8 seed after entering the line-up later due to injury. This will put him on a collision course with the #1 seed. Riley has the gas tank to press deep into this tournament as well. Will have to place top 6 to qualify for NCAA.
184 Eddie Neitenbach (7 allocations) - enters as the 6 seed in a deep 184 field highlighted by Parker Keckeisen and Dustin Plott. Eddie fought off an injury early in the year and has been steady Eddie (wordplay) ever since. There at times you see the Freshmen come out, but his offense makes him really dangerous. Fringe at-large but should place top 7.
197 Joey Novak (4 allocations) - comes in at the #2 seed behind Luke Surber. He has lost to Luke twice this year once in Stillwater and at CKLV (injury default), however, Joey is entering the tourney on a 13-match winning streak and looks to continue his winning ways. At-large if needed.
HWT Sam Mitchell (4 allocations) - enters as the 8 seed and puts him on a path with Wyatt Hendrickson. He does get a match before, so a win early puts him in a favorable Consi-bracket at HWT if needed. Will have to place top 4 to qualify for NCAA.
Some publications have the Cowboys finishing 8th in the team race. If Wyoming places in their current seeds (excluding bonus points) then you are looking at a 10th place finish. I don’t say this to be a bearer of bad news, actually the opposite, as last year they finished higher than expected and scored 15 more team points then what was projected. The boys came to compete in March last year and I expect the same this weekend. They had a weird period middle of the year after the holidays where the guys seemed off, but time at home has cleared up some of those concerns I had.
Let it fly this weekend boys. There is no reason to hold back; don’t look back in 5- or 10-years thinking did I give it my all those matches. If you give it everything you have and lose then so be it, but don’t leave yourself wondering later down the road. Work your way to Philadelphia and remember you are the only school where an entire state is behind you.
Good Links:
Tentative Brackets actual brackets will be released following weighs HERE
ESPN + Finals will be on ESPNU Sunday evening.
Coach Branch interview on KFBC
Be sure to follow Wyoming Wrestling Twitter for Mat Assignments as they do a really good job at it.
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