Stealing topic idea from PSU's forum, but which Iowa wrestler/Wrestlers are you most looking forward to watching this upcoming season? A few interesting storylines and new faces to the lineup, plus our returning studs.
125 - Thomas Gilman JR - 4th Place AA last year as a Sophomore, excited to see how much better he has gotten and if he can put himself into the finals this season.
133- Cory Clark JR - 2x AA, 5th as a frosh and Runner up last season. Word is Brewer will be staying at 133, so I will be highly anticipating that rematch in the finals. I think Clark can beat him, in their match Clark was taking a lot of bad shots without setups and Brewer made him pay for about 3-4 of them with counter TD's. When Clark actually set up his shot he scored. Plus he dominates people from the top position.. and the scoreboard doesn't always show it, but man is he a beast on top.
141- Brody Grothus SR - NCAA qualifier as a SO with some big wins over big names. Didn't win the starting spot last year at 149, lost it to FR AA Sorensen. Now willing to make the cut down to 141 for his SR campaign and to fill a big hole on the team. How will his body handle the cut? Will he be ready to go 100% by the start of the season? - As we all saw the pictures with his arm in a sling/brace. If Brody can hold the weight and stay healthy, I predict anywhere from Low-High AA finish for him, really need to see him wrestle at 141 first, but I feel pretty confident in picking him to AA here. Could be a much needed boost to our NCAA title hopes.
149- Brandon Sorensen SO - 4th Place AA as a Frosh. Looked pretty damned impressive last year, showed spurts of offensive prowess, but also grinded out a few low scoring affairs. Hope to see him open it up a bit more this year, and the sky is the limit. I predict a top 3 finish for Sorensen, but really hope for a finals appearance.
157- I expect we will see Cooper or Rhoads here, but there is HR talk of St. John challenging (I haven't been in the room at all, so I have no info on this). Honestly will be happy with an NCAA qualifier here, someone who will be competitive all season, and can score maybe 2.5-3 points at Nationals with maybe a win and 1 or 2 on the backside.
165- Burke Paddock FR- Interesting to see how the Frosh does down at a weight, as he competed at 174 all last season. He has some diverse offense with an arsenal of Greco throws, and hope to see a qualifier and similar contribution from him as 157. If he can get a few pins on the backside might contribute some much needed points, we need them wherever we can get them.
174- Alex Meyer JR- Really looking forward to Alex Meyer's official debut as a full time starter. He has the mentality we all love and think he will be right in the top 5 mix right away to start the season. I honestly think Meyer will score more pts than Evans ever did at NCAA's, although he couldn't beat him out for the spot.
184- Sammy Brooks JR- Rd of 12 last year in his first season as a full time starter. Hoping we get to have a full season of healthy offensive Sammy. I think the sky is the limit for him and he could easily find himself in the finals opposite Gabe Dean if all the cards fall right. My prediction is Top 5 for Sammy, I think he was a top 5 wrestler last season, but the way the bracket shook out, he lost to #1 and #4 place finisher while injured.
197- Nathan Burak SR- 2x AA, R12 as Freshman, 8th as SO, 7th as JR. Nathan has been steadily improving throughout his time here, and he looks like he took another step after this season when he blew his way through university nationals in impressive fashion. I think he is realistically a top 3 guy here this season, Snyder RSing, Gadson, Schiller Graduates. His only losses last year were to Gadson and McIntosh at NCAAs. I see a Cox-McIntosh final, but don't be surprised if Burak gets in there on sheer will power.
285- Sammy Stoll- Excited to see what the Frosh HWT can bring to the table. We all know he is an excellent Greco guy, and will likely score more than a few falls for us, his folkstyle results left a little to be desired last season, but there is always a learning curve with Hwt. I expect Sammy to qualify for NCAAs and score a few points for us, will be avidly watching as he progresses throughout the season, and could see him in AA contention. But for now temper my expectations and predict similar finish for him as 157/165, except maybe a few more points from falls. Between 157/165/285 I hope we can put together about 10 team pts.
As for who i am personally most excited to watch, it would have to be Gilman, Clark, Meyer, and Brooks. LOVE this JR class and they will still do great things. Also hoping to see Grothus and Burak go out on high notes to end their careers.
125 - Thomas Gilman JR - 4th Place AA last year as a Sophomore, excited to see how much better he has gotten and if he can put himself into the finals this season.
133- Cory Clark JR - 2x AA, 5th as a frosh and Runner up last season. Word is Brewer will be staying at 133, so I will be highly anticipating that rematch in the finals. I think Clark can beat him, in their match Clark was taking a lot of bad shots without setups and Brewer made him pay for about 3-4 of them with counter TD's. When Clark actually set up his shot he scored. Plus he dominates people from the top position.. and the scoreboard doesn't always show it, but man is he a beast on top.
141- Brody Grothus SR - NCAA qualifier as a SO with some big wins over big names. Didn't win the starting spot last year at 149, lost it to FR AA Sorensen. Now willing to make the cut down to 141 for his SR campaign and to fill a big hole on the team. How will his body handle the cut? Will he be ready to go 100% by the start of the season? - As we all saw the pictures with his arm in a sling/brace. If Brody can hold the weight and stay healthy, I predict anywhere from Low-High AA finish for him, really need to see him wrestle at 141 first, but I feel pretty confident in picking him to AA here. Could be a much needed boost to our NCAA title hopes.
149- Brandon Sorensen SO - 4th Place AA as a Frosh. Looked pretty damned impressive last year, showed spurts of offensive prowess, but also grinded out a few low scoring affairs. Hope to see him open it up a bit more this year, and the sky is the limit. I predict a top 3 finish for Sorensen, but really hope for a finals appearance.
157- I expect we will see Cooper or Rhoads here, but there is HR talk of St. John challenging (I haven't been in the room at all, so I have no info on this). Honestly will be happy with an NCAA qualifier here, someone who will be competitive all season, and can score maybe 2.5-3 points at Nationals with maybe a win and 1 or 2 on the backside.
165- Burke Paddock FR- Interesting to see how the Frosh does down at a weight, as he competed at 174 all last season. He has some diverse offense with an arsenal of Greco throws, and hope to see a qualifier and similar contribution from him as 157. If he can get a few pins on the backside might contribute some much needed points, we need them wherever we can get them.
174- Alex Meyer JR- Really looking forward to Alex Meyer's official debut as a full time starter. He has the mentality we all love and think he will be right in the top 5 mix right away to start the season. I honestly think Meyer will score more pts than Evans ever did at NCAA's, although he couldn't beat him out for the spot.
184- Sammy Brooks JR- Rd of 12 last year in his first season as a full time starter. Hoping we get to have a full season of healthy offensive Sammy. I think the sky is the limit for him and he could easily find himself in the finals opposite Gabe Dean if all the cards fall right. My prediction is Top 5 for Sammy, I think he was a top 5 wrestler last season, but the way the bracket shook out, he lost to #1 and #4 place finisher while injured.
197- Nathan Burak SR- 2x AA, R12 as Freshman, 8th as SO, 7th as JR. Nathan has been steadily improving throughout his time here, and he looks like he took another step after this season when he blew his way through university nationals in impressive fashion. I think he is realistically a top 3 guy here this season, Snyder RSing, Gadson, Schiller Graduates. His only losses last year were to Gadson and McIntosh at NCAAs. I see a Cox-McIntosh final, but don't be surprised if Burak gets in there on sheer will power.
285- Sammy Stoll- Excited to see what the Frosh HWT can bring to the table. We all know he is an excellent Greco guy, and will likely score more than a few falls for us, his folkstyle results left a little to be desired last season, but there is always a learning curve with Hwt. I expect Sammy to qualify for NCAAs and score a few points for us, will be avidly watching as he progresses throughout the season, and could see him in AA contention. But for now temper my expectations and predict similar finish for him as 157/165, except maybe a few more points from falls. Between 157/165/285 I hope we can put together about 10 team pts.
As for who i am personally most excited to watch, it would have to be Gilman, Clark, Meyer, and Brooks. LOVE this JR class and they will still do great things. Also hoping to see Grothus and Burak go out on high notes to end their careers.
