WRESTLING: No. 1 Penn State at 2016 Southern Scuffle Preview

Penn State travels to Chattanooga, TN to begin its pursuit of a sixth consecutive Southern Scuffle championship.  This year's field is a bit thinner than past seasons, but the challenge remains very stiff.  It figures to be a three-team race, between PSU, Oklahoma State, and Cornell.  This one could come down to the final matches on Saturday, January 2nd.

WHAT: Southern Scuffle

WHERE: Chattanooga, TN

WHEN: It's a two-day tournament.  We need a table to illustrate all of the awesome fight action.

Round	Date, Time
Champ. Round 1	1/1/16, 9am
Champ. Round 2	1/1/16, Noon
Consi. Round 2	1/1/16, 3pm
Champ. Round 3	1/1/16, 5:45pm
Go to bed	1/1/16, 10pm
Champ.Quarterfinals	1/2/16, 9am
Consi. Round 5	1/2/16, 11:30am
Champ.Semi Finals	1/2/16, 1:30pm
Consi. Quarterfinals	1/2/16, 3:30pm
Champ.Finals	1/2/16, 7pm

How To Watch

GoPSUSports has us covered with free audio, featuring everyone's favorite wrestling announcer, Jeff "Ironhead" Byers.  The video feed is presented by FloWrestling, but it'll cost you a couple of dollars.  (It's worth it.)

And, of course, you can always swing by BSD to follow along with your innernets friends (that's us).  We'll be running open threads of the live action throughout the tournament.

To the preview...

125 LBS

Rank	Wrestler	School
4	Nico Megaludis	Penn State
5	Eddie Klimara	Oklahoma State
11	Chason Tolbert	Utah Valley
13	Zeke Moisey	West Virginia
16	Darian Cruz	Lehigh
18	Dalton Macri	Cornell
19	Connor Youtsey	Michigan
20	Connor Schram	Stanford
NR	Kenny Yanovich	Penn State

At first glance this weight looks like a two-man race, between Nico and Okie State's Eddie Klimara - which is another way of saying that Penn State's Nico Megaludis will roll to the Scuffle title.  However, #13 Moisey (national runner-up last year), #16 Cruz (2014 All-American) and #18 Macri can pull upsets.  The funny part - five of the eight ranked entrants at this weight - Nico, Moisey, Cruz, Macri, and Schram -  hold PIAA state titles.

133 LBS

Rank	Wrestler	School
1	Nahshon Garrett	Cornell
4	George DiCamillo	Virginia
6	Jordan Conaway	Penn State
10	Kaid Brock	Oklahoma State
15	Rossi Bruno	Michigan
17	Mason Beckman	Lehigh
19	Josh Martinez	Air Force
NR	Jared Cortez	Penn State
NR	Gary Wayne Harding	Oklahoma State

Cornell's Garrett is the heavy favorite, but this will be a very interesting weight.  PSU's Jared Cortez is redshirting and won't count towards the Lions' point scoring - but he's worthy of a top 4 seed (that he likely won't get).  No.19 Josh Martinez isn't our favorite, but he's earned a top 8 seed at nationals previously, so he can clearly wrestle.  No.17 Beckman is always a tough out (update: he's wrestling at Midlands even though his teammates headed south), and is himself a past All-American.  All of this is to note two things: 1) prepare for upsets; and 2) Jordan Conaway and Okie State's true frosh Kaid Brock figure prominently into the team race.  An early upset loss vs. a deep run in the championship bracket might stand as the difference between a 6th straight team title for PSU, and second place.

141 LBS

Rank	Wrestler	School
1	Dean Heil	Oklahoma State
4	Joey McKenna	Stanford
6	Jimmy Gulibon	Penn State
11	Tommy Thorn	Minnesota
13	Randy Cruz	Lehigh
15	Bryce Meredith	Wyoming
16	Zach Horan	Central Michigan
NR	Kevin Devoy	Drexel
NR	George Fisher	Michigan
NR	Mark Grey	Cornell
NR	Kade Moss	Penn State
NR	Gary Dinmore	Penn State

We're not sold - yet - on Okie State's Dean Heil as a #1 ranked guy, though he's likely to receive the top seed.  However, there are a lot of places to lose along the way.  Cruz, Meredith, Horan, Devoy, Fisher, Grey - all have won matches at nationals.  And Penn State's Kade Moss pinned Heil at last year's Scuffle.  For our money, McKenna is the favorite - he looked dominant in his win over Gulibon a few weeks ago.  Like 133lbs, this weight will factor heavily into the team race.  Seeing Jimmy make a run to the final - like he did two years ago, upsetting two All-Americans in the process - would make us Penn Staters feel a lot better.

149 LBS

Rank	Wrestler	School
1	Zain Retherford	Penn State
6	CJ Cobb	Penn
7	Evan Henderson	UNC
8	Colin Heffernan	Central Michigan
9	Matt Cimato	Drexel
10	Alex Pantaleo	Michigan
11	Jake Short	Minnesota
12	Anthony Collica	Oklahoma State
18	Geordan Martinez	Boise State
NR	Joey Galasso	Cornell

UNC's Evan Henderson - the pre-season #1 at 141lbs - is rumored to be bumping up here, so we've slotted him into the mix.  The weight class needs it.  Expect Zain to run through the field.

157 LBS

Rank	Wrestler	School
3	Jason Nolf	Penn State
5	Brian Murphy	Michigan
8	Lucas Smith	Central Michigan
10	Mitch Minotti	Lehigh
12	Dylan Cotrell	West Virginia
14	Russ Parsons	Army
NR	Zach Beitz	Penn State
NR	Vincenzo Joseph	Penn State
NR	Chance Marsteller	Oklahoma State
NR	Joe Smith	Oklahoma State
NR	Ryan Blees	Oklahoma State
NR	Chris Dowdy	Cornell

This should be a lot of fun.  First, because Jason Nolf likely wins the title, scoring a whole lotta team points for Penn State in the process.  But also because we get to see a pair of true freshmen - Cenzo and Jo Jo  - mix it up with the college veterans.  The fascinating storyline - if you're looking for one - is how well Joe Smith, son of Okie State head coach John Smith, wrestles in this tournament.  And, consequently, whether John Smith chooses the role of "father" or "coach" in deciding to keep Jo Jo in a redshirt (best for son), or pull his shirt and stick him in the lineup (best for team).  This, of course, assumes that Jo Jo out-wrestles his two highly regarded teammates, Chance Marsteller and Ryan Blees.  No certain thing.  But, it looks likely at this point of the year.

165 LBS

Rank	Wrestler	School
1	Alex Dieringer	Oklahoma State
4	Ethan Ramos	UNC
5	Jim Wilson	Stanford
13	Duke Pickett	Cornell
19	Geno Morelli	Penn State
19	Shakur Rasheed	Penn State
19	Garett Hammond	Penn State

Dieringer is as sure of a bet as exists in college wrestling this year.  He's half ape, and no one has come close to threatening him since Dylan Alton had him on the ropes in a late February 2013 dual, down at 157lbs.  The real fun to this weight class is how our three Nittany Lions perform.  The early season went to Shakur.  Then Geno won the Nittany Lion Open, and nearly took out Wisconsin's highly ranked Ike Jordan in a dual.  And oh by the way, Garett Hammond can roll, too.  Ideally, at least one of them makes a run into the semi-finals, and separates himself from his teammates to secure the spot in the lineup.

174 LBS

Rank	Wrestler	School
1	Brian Realbuto	Cornell
2	Kyle Crutchmer	Oklahoma State
5	Bo Nickal	Penn State
10	Mike Ottinger	Central Michigan
14	Jadaen Bernstein	Navy
16	Ben Stroh	Wyoming
18	Brian Harvey	Army
19	Davonte Mahomes	Michigan
20	Elliot Riddick	Lehigh
NR	Chandler Rogers	Oklahoma State

This should be fun.  More than likely, we'll see Bo paired on Crutchmer's side of the bracket, setting up a decisive semi-final match.  Crutchmer is the returning AA, but we like Bo to win that one - and then, to take the title, and leave Chattanooga as the top ranked 174lber in the nation.

184 LBS

Rank	Wrestler	School
1	Gabe Dean	Cornell
4	Nathaniel Brown	Lehigh
6	Lorenzo Thomas	Penn
10	Dominic Abounader	Michigan
13	Matt McCutcheon	Penn State
15	Matt Miller	Navy
18	Nolan Boyd	Oklahoma State
19	Alex Utley	UNC
NR	Jordan Rogers	Oklahoma State

Both of last year's national finalists lead a field that also includes another AA (Thomas) and last year's Big Ten champ (Abounader).  This will be a stiff test for Mouse, who's nursing a back injury (and those are not fun).

197 LBS

Rank	Wrestler	School
1	Morgan McIntosh	Penn State
3	Conner Hartmann	Duke
5	Brett Pfarr	Minnesota
7	Max Huntley	Michigan
8	Jake Smith	West Virginia
10	Zach Nye	Virginia
15	John Bolich	Lehigh
18	Scott Boykin	UTC
20	Derek Thomas	Utah Valley
NR	Austin Shafer	Oklahoma State
NR	Jake Taylor	Cornell

Six of the national top-10 pepper the field - but this figures to be Morg's first Scuffle title.  His stiffest test will be Duke's Hartmann, who knocked Morg out of the NCAAs last year.  He's legit.  But none of us expect a repeat of that.

285 LBS

Rank	Wrestler	School
3	Adam Coon	Michigan
4	Austin Marsden	Oklahoma State
7	Michael Kroells	Minnesota
8	Riley Shaw	Cleveland State
12	Denzel Dejournette	Appalachian State
13	Jared Johnson	UTC
17	Max Wessell	Lehigh
18	Nathan Butler	Stanford
NR	Jan Johnson	Penn State
NR	Jeramy Sweany	Cornell

The fatties have a pretty clear strata, and Michigan's Coon is at the top of it.  But if you're looking for a darkhorse, you could worse than Stanford's Nathan Butler.  This should also be a fun experience for PSU's Jan Johnson.  Let it rip, young man.

MIDLANDS UPDATE (12/29/15)

David Taylor is pinning and tech falling everyone.  But we expected that.  Here are some actual upsets:

133

Emilio Saavedra (ODU) 4-2 SV1 #17 Mason Beckman (LEH)

Saavedra (ODU) DEC 5-4 #14 Eric Montoya (NEB)

Anthony Giraldo (RUT) DEC 5-4 #5 Earl Hall (ISU)

141

Ronnie Perry (LHU) DEC 3-2 #3 Chris Mecate (ODU)

Danny Sabatello (PUR) MAJ 15-4 #17 Anthony Abidin (NEB)

Matt Kolodzik (PRIN) DEC 11-4 #2 Anthony Ashnault (RUT)

Kolodzik (PRIN) DEC 6-3 #19 Rick Durso (F&M)

Steve Bleise (N.IL) 4-2SV1 #5 Kevin Jack (NCSt)

157

Bryce Steiert (UNI) DEC 6-4 #18 Tyler Berger (NEB)

Chad Walsh (RID) WBF 6:21 #15 Lou Mascola (UMD)

165

Adam Fierro (CSUB) DEC 6-4 #10 Anthony Perrotti (RUT)

Mitch Wightman (AU) DEC 8-4 #11 Austin Wilson (NEB)

174

Jacob Holschlag (N.IL) DEC 5-2 #16 Matt Reed (OU)

184

#16 Abe Ayala (PRIN) DEC 8-7 #3 Jack Dechow (ODU)

197

Derek White (NEB) DEC 5-3 #12 Nate Rotert (SDSU)

White (NEB) DEC 7-4 #11 Phil Wellington (Ohio)

Josh DaSilveira (ASU) DEC 9-7 #6 Reuben Franklin (CSUB)

285

Tanner Hall (ASU) DEC 6-5 #5 Amarveer Dhesi (ORST)