Looking ahead to next year's team race. I think it is a 6 team race. Edinboro, Missouri, and Minnesota are losing too much firepower and I don't believe they have the horses in the staple to remain in the team race for 2016.
So here are the contenders: Ohio State, Iowa, Cornell, Oklahoma State, Penn State, and maybe a bit of a surprise Michigan.
Here are what each school has returning with a loose projection.
Ohio State
125- Nathan Tomasello- Top 3.
133- Jhonny Dijulius- 4 seed this year, but failed to AA. Mid AA threat.
141- Keshawn Hayes- Freshman #8 overall recruit according to DICW.
149- Hunter Stieber- After elbow surgery, a healthy Hunter is a title threat.
157- Micah Jordan- RS Freshman, Top 10 recruit (#6)
165- Bo Jordan- Top 3
174- Mark Martin- 10 seed this year lost in round of 16, round of 12 in 2014. Low AA threat
184- Kenny Courts- 5th in 2015, Round of 12 in 2014 and 2013. Tons of talent, former top 10 recruit (#8).
197- Kyle Snyder- Top 3
Hvy- Nick Tavanello/Thomas Haines- Tavanello was injury this year, he made the round of 12 as a Freshman in 2014. Haines is a top 10 recruit (#9) who redshirted this year. Many people think he is going to beat out the Junior Tavanello.
Ohio State also have #4 overall recruit Myles Martin coming in who is projected at 184 and well as a top 50 recruit in Jose Rodriguez who is projected at 125/133, as well as Kolin Moore a top 70 recruit who is projected at 174. Ohio State also has Tom Ryan's son Jake Ryan waiting in the wings at 149 if Hunter Steiber is not healthy.
Iowa
125- Thomas Gilman- Top 3
133- Cory Clark- Top 3
141- Sam Gross- #41 overall recruit
149- Sorenson- Top 5
157- Grothus- wildcard, fringe AA. He could be a monster, he was beaten out this year by the experienced Kelly.
165- Purke Paddock- #63 overall recruit
174- Alex Meyer- #41 overall recruit, bonus point machine
184- Brooks- Low AA
197- Burak- Top 5. I don't think he is in the class of Snyder or Cox, but he is a grinder.
Hvy- Stoll- #14 overall recruit
Iowa has a few holes to fill, but they have recruited talented kids in those spots. I don't know if they have reruited as well as Ohio State or Penn State as far as immediate impact guys. It will be interesting to see how these RS Freshman who will have the opportunity next year respond. Clark, Gilman, Brooks and Sorenson were all top 25 recruits, but Meyer, Paddock, Gross are all in the next tier of prospects, not that we haven't seen many unheralded prospects become champions, but it is something to note.
Cornell
125- Nashon Garrett- Top 3, Finalist in 2014, 5th in 2015
133- Mark Grey- Round of 12 in 2014, Round of 24 in 2015. He is a fringe AA canidate
141- Not sure. Freshman Dylan Realbuto? Maybe Silverstro?
149- Alex Cisneros- Former top 10 recruit (#6) finally breaks into the lineup or incoming freshman Galasco, #23 overall recruit
157- Brian Realbuto- top 3
165- Palacio- Top 8, returning AA
174- Duke Pickett- ranked in the lower portion of the weight class in 2015 or Greyshirt Freshman, Artigeliere, who was the #52 overall recruit
184- Gabe Dean- Top 3
197- Congenie- #53 overall recruit or maybe Anderson
Hvy- Sweaney- #59 overall recruit
Cornell has the horses, Garratt, Dean, Palacio, Realbuto. It is up to the supporting cast of Grey, Cisneros, and the Freshman to see if they can make a run.
Penn State
125- Nico or Conway- Nico is top 3 Conway is a low AA
133- Gulibon- Top 8, took 5th in 2015, former top recruit
141- Zain Retherford- Top 3, former top recruit who is the last person to beat Logan Stieber
149- Zack Beitz- Fringe AA, Rd of 12 or incoming top 10 recruit (#5) Joesph.
157- Jason Nolf- Top Recruit (#4), high ceiling bonus points guy
165- Hammond- Decent freshman year, will be pushing by RS Freshman Shakur and Law
174- Bo Nickal- big shoes to fill of Matt Brown, but top recruit (#7) should be ready after his RS in 2015.
184- Mccutheon- Round of 12 in 2015, made the quarters. Should see some growth in his Sophomore campaign.
197- McIntosh- Top 3
Hvy- Nick Nevils- Top recruit (#5) should hit the ground running.
Penn State Redshirted some serious points in 2015 in order to prepare for another multi-year run at titles and it starts in 2015. Getting production from their RS Freshman will be key as well as figuring out 149 and 165 the only two question marks in the lineup.
Oklahoma State
125- Kilmara- returning AA, Top 8
133- Piccinnini- Top recruit (#4) might get pressed into service right away. We could see Pic at 125 and Kilmara up here.
141- Heil- 4th in 2015. Top recruit (#13), could be a title contender top 3 type
149- Collica- up a weight in 2015 bc of Kindig, he has made the round of 12 twice. I think at his more natural weight he is a Mid AA threat.
157- Blees- Top recruit in 2014 (#16), should be ready to compete.
165- Marstaller- One of the most hype'd Freshman I have ever seen. We shall see (#2) recruit.
174- Dieringer- Beast, I say Top 3, but he is for sure the title favorite.
184- An interesting spot- Cruchmer is a returning 5th place at 174, but Boyd is a returning NQ and was ranked 15th coming in. Plus tough recruits like Rodgers.
197- Maybe Boyd comes up here, maybe Weigel or Rodgers breaks into the lineup here. This is a question mark, but a high ceiling still.
Hvy- Mardsen- Top 5
Michigan
125- Youtsey- Returning AA, 6th in 2015, Low to mid AA
133- Bruno- Returning AA, 8th in 2015, Low to mid AA
141- Hall- #23 overall recruit
149- Pantaleo, Round of 16 as a Freshman, ranked as high as 10th
157- Murphy- Returning AA, 7th in 2015. High ceiling in 2016
165- Logan Massa- #1 overall recruit
174- Taylor Massa- former top recruit (#2), Low AA threat
184- Abounader- Former top recruit, Ranked top 8 most of the year, round of 12 in 2014 and round of 16 in 2015. High ceiling.
197- Hayden Payne- #99 overall recruit or Sisti. This is their only question mark weight class.
Hvy- Coon- finalist in 2015. Top recruit, he is going to win a title eventually.
Michigan may not have the high end guys to win a title, but they are rock solid top to bottom and if Coon, Massa, Abounader, and Murphy take then next step they could very much be in a title hunt.
This post was edited on 3/21 6:34 PM by JustWrestle133
So here are the contenders: Ohio State, Iowa, Cornell, Oklahoma State, Penn State, and maybe a bit of a surprise Michigan.
Here are what each school has returning with a loose projection.
Ohio State
125- Nathan Tomasello- Top 3.
133- Jhonny Dijulius- 4 seed this year, but failed to AA. Mid AA threat.
141- Keshawn Hayes- Freshman #8 overall recruit according to DICW.
149- Hunter Stieber- After elbow surgery, a healthy Hunter is a title threat.
157- Micah Jordan- RS Freshman, Top 10 recruit (#6)
165- Bo Jordan- Top 3
174- Mark Martin- 10 seed this year lost in round of 16, round of 12 in 2014. Low AA threat
184- Kenny Courts- 5th in 2015, Round of 12 in 2014 and 2013. Tons of talent, former top 10 recruit (#8).
197- Kyle Snyder- Top 3
Hvy- Nick Tavanello/Thomas Haines- Tavanello was injury this year, he made the round of 12 as a Freshman in 2014. Haines is a top 10 recruit (#9) who redshirted this year. Many people think he is going to beat out the Junior Tavanello.
Ohio State also have #4 overall recruit Myles Martin coming in who is projected at 184 and well as a top 50 recruit in Jose Rodriguez who is projected at 125/133, as well as Kolin Moore a top 70 recruit who is projected at 174. Ohio State also has Tom Ryan's son Jake Ryan waiting in the wings at 149 if Hunter Steiber is not healthy.
Iowa
125- Thomas Gilman- Top 3
133- Cory Clark- Top 3
141- Sam Gross- #41 overall recruit
149- Sorenson- Top 5
157- Grothus- wildcard, fringe AA. He could be a monster, he was beaten out this year by the experienced Kelly.
165- Purke Paddock- #63 overall recruit
174- Alex Meyer- #41 overall recruit, bonus point machine
184- Brooks- Low AA
197- Burak- Top 5. I don't think he is in the class of Snyder or Cox, but he is a grinder.
Hvy- Stoll- #14 overall recruit
Iowa has a few holes to fill, but they have recruited talented kids in those spots. I don't know if they have reruited as well as Ohio State or Penn State as far as immediate impact guys. It will be interesting to see how these RS Freshman who will have the opportunity next year respond. Clark, Gilman, Brooks and Sorenson were all top 25 recruits, but Meyer, Paddock, Gross are all in the next tier of prospects, not that we haven't seen many unheralded prospects become champions, but it is something to note.
Cornell
125- Nashon Garrett- Top 3, Finalist in 2014, 5th in 2015
133- Mark Grey- Round of 12 in 2014, Round of 24 in 2015. He is a fringe AA canidate
141- Not sure. Freshman Dylan Realbuto? Maybe Silverstro?
149- Alex Cisneros- Former top 10 recruit (#6) finally breaks into the lineup or incoming freshman Galasco, #23 overall recruit
157- Brian Realbuto- top 3
165- Palacio- Top 8, returning AA
174- Duke Pickett- ranked in the lower portion of the weight class in 2015 or Greyshirt Freshman, Artigeliere, who was the #52 overall recruit
184- Gabe Dean- Top 3
197- Congenie- #53 overall recruit or maybe Anderson
Hvy- Sweaney- #59 overall recruit
Cornell has the horses, Garratt, Dean, Palacio, Realbuto. It is up to the supporting cast of Grey, Cisneros, and the Freshman to see if they can make a run.
Penn State
125- Nico or Conway- Nico is top 3 Conway is a low AA
133- Gulibon- Top 8, took 5th in 2015, former top recruit
141- Zain Retherford- Top 3, former top recruit who is the last person to beat Logan Stieber
149- Zack Beitz- Fringe AA, Rd of 12 or incoming top 10 recruit (#5) Joesph.
157- Jason Nolf- Top Recruit (#4), high ceiling bonus points guy
165- Hammond- Decent freshman year, will be pushing by RS Freshman Shakur and Law
174- Bo Nickal- big shoes to fill of Matt Brown, but top recruit (#7) should be ready after his RS in 2015.
184- Mccutheon- Round of 12 in 2015, made the quarters. Should see some growth in his Sophomore campaign.
197- McIntosh- Top 3
Hvy- Nick Nevils- Top recruit (#5) should hit the ground running.
Penn State Redshirted some serious points in 2015 in order to prepare for another multi-year run at titles and it starts in 2015. Getting production from their RS Freshman will be key as well as figuring out 149 and 165 the only two question marks in the lineup.
Oklahoma State
125- Kilmara- returning AA, Top 8
133- Piccinnini- Top recruit (#4) might get pressed into service right away. We could see Pic at 125 and Kilmara up here.
141- Heil- 4th in 2015. Top recruit (#13), could be a title contender top 3 type
149- Collica- up a weight in 2015 bc of Kindig, he has made the round of 12 twice. I think at his more natural weight he is a Mid AA threat.
157- Blees- Top recruit in 2014 (#16), should be ready to compete.
165- Marstaller- One of the most hype'd Freshman I have ever seen. We shall see (#2) recruit.
174- Dieringer- Beast, I say Top 3, but he is for sure the title favorite.
184- An interesting spot- Cruchmer is a returning 5th place at 174, but Boyd is a returning NQ and was ranked 15th coming in. Plus tough recruits like Rodgers.
197- Maybe Boyd comes up here, maybe Weigel or Rodgers breaks into the lineup here. This is a question mark, but a high ceiling still.
Hvy- Mardsen- Top 5
Michigan
125- Youtsey- Returning AA, 6th in 2015, Low to mid AA
133- Bruno- Returning AA, 8th in 2015, Low to mid AA
141- Hall- #23 overall recruit
149- Pantaleo, Round of 16 as a Freshman, ranked as high as 10th
157- Murphy- Returning AA, 7th in 2015. High ceiling in 2016
165- Logan Massa- #1 overall recruit
174- Taylor Massa- former top recruit (#2), Low AA threat
184- Abounader- Former top recruit, Ranked top 8 most of the year, round of 12 in 2014 and round of 16 in 2015. High ceiling.
197- Hayden Payne- #99 overall recruit or Sisti. This is their only question mark weight class.
Hvy- Coon- finalist in 2015. Top recruit, he is going to win a title eventually.
Michigan may not have the high end guys to win a title, but they are rock solid top to bottom and if Coon, Massa, Abounader, and Murphy take then next step they could very much be in a title hunt.
This post was edited on 3/21 6:34 PM by JustWrestle133
