PREVIEW:
First off I want to thank everyone for all the positive reactions to the previews. I just started doing them to help generate interest/help people know what to expect coming into our duals.
I will do this preview in chronological order: ISU then Cornell then Little Rock. I am adding Intermat rankings into the preview just to see if I like it better.
IOWA STATE:
125: Camacho vs #22 Terukina
Colton has another ranked matchup to start off NCD. Terukina started the year off well, majoring returning AA Eric Barnett to begin 3-0 to start the year. Since then he is 1-3, losing to Nico Provo, Drake Ayala and Richard Castro-Sandoval. The loss the RCS is what gives me the most hope for Camacho as that is someone in the same tier of unranked limbo. Based on Camacho's positive momentum I am going to count this as a toss up even though it would be an upset based on the rankings. Toss Up.
133: #23 Santaniello vs #8 Frost
Frost is a redshirt freshman who just keeps winning. He is 8-1 so far with his only loss coming in the CKLV Finals to Kai Orine. His best wins are Teske, Tyler Knox and Julian Farber. He seems to have made a huge jump since last year and is the favorite in my opinion. Vin has a shot but I would expect Frost to have him scouted and stay out of the underhook. ISU Favored.
141: #15 Matthews vs #14 Echemendia
Echemendia is an interesting case as a primarily freestyle guy who is really benefitting from the 3 point takedown. His best win of the season came at CKLV when he majored Cornella from Cornell (will get to him later). His other notable results are a 9-6 loss to Lachlan McNeil where he was able to score from neutral on the returning AA and a 4-1 SV loss to Real Woods where he almost took out the number 1 guy in the country as time expired. Matthews will need to dominate in top bottom and keep it in his advantage on his feet but he can absolutely pull this one out. Toss Up.
149:#19 Solomon vs #7 Swiderski
This is one of the matches I look forward to the most, Swiderski loves to get after it on his feet and I believe this will be a very entertaining matchup. His two losses on the year have come to #3 Parco and #4 D'Emilio. He lost 13-10 to D'Emilio (who Solomon just lost to 12-11). His best wins on the season are Iowa's Voinivich and Stanford's Abas. He was rd12 at 141 during last year NCAAs. Finn will need to show the neutral game he had in the first half of the D'Emilio match to pull this one off. ISU Favored
157: NR Keslar vs #21 Cody Chittum
Chittum is 4-3 this year but don't let that fool you, his losses have all come to top 8 guys in the country. He does not have any super notable wins but has a very high pedigree as a recruit and 2/3 losses have been by a razor thin margain. Keslar will need to wrestle his best and keep it lower scoring to pull this one off. ISU favored
First half Recap: 0 Pitt favored, 3 ISU favored 2 Toss ups. This is similar to the tOSU first half. where we will need to do well in toss ups or pull off upsets to have a chance. Luckily we just saw how achievable that is for us.
165: #8 Heller vs #4 Carr
David Carr needs no introduction but I will give him one, National Champ and 3rd place at 157, National Finalist at 165 last year. Went 2-1 vs KOT last year. He however is coming off a CKLV where he lost to Cornell's Julian Ramirez (more about him later) in the semis. He has already has big wins this season over Hamiti, Amine and Caliendo. Last year he beat Heller 7-3 in the dual. Heller will need to wrestle his absolute best to pull this one off. ISU favored.
174: #17 Augustine vs #22 Gaitan
Last year in the dual Luca won 6-4, I expect this year to be another close match. Gaitan is 6-4 this year, all his wins coming over unranked guys and all his losses coming to ranked guys. He is kind of a wild card and has high scoring matches sometimes so I am interested to see how they really match up this time. Toss up.
184:#14 Heller vs #5 Feldkamp
They met at last years Clarion Open where Feldkamp won by fall. Feldkamp is 5-2 so far this year. He made the CKLV finals after an impressive run. He TF'ed Navy's Key (who Heller got stuck by in the dual). Feldkamp's only real blemish this season is losing to Gabe Arnold (bumping up to 184) in the CyHawk dual. In that match Feldkamp had his offense completely shut down, I doubt Reece will be able to wrestle in a similar style but it is interesting to see that it has happened. I expect this match to contain multiple feet to back sequences, hopefully our guy is the one who can come off on top in the big ones. ISU favored.
197: #17 Stout vs NR Broderson
Broderson is 4-3 on the year with all his losses coming to ranked opponents. He was ISU's postseason starter at 174 last year so Mac will have the size advantage. They have no common opponents, but I would expect a victory for the good guys, Pitt favored.
285: #10 Pitzer vs #3 Bastida
Bastida is in his first year at heavyweight (up from 197) and he looks like an absolute revelation. He is 9-0 and just won CKLV, beating 3 ranked guys. He TF'ed Griess from Navy (who beat Dayton), MD'ed Feldman from OSU and beat 2x AA Davinson from Michigan in the finals. Pitzer will maybe be able to keep up with his speed and ability from neutral but likely he will really need to wrestle great in top/bottom to pull it off. ISU Favored
2nd Half: 1 Pitt favored, 3 ISU favored, 1 Toss up
Overall: 1 Pitt favored, 6 ISU favored, 3 Toss Ups. This is a meet where we will need an upset or two to win the dual. It is possible in my opinion as I think 133, 149 and HWT especially are matches where we can pull it off. However, this would require another performance like tOSU where we dictate the tempo throughout the match. Another great measuring stick for Pitt as individuals and a Dual team.