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We have a whole lotta ground to cover this week, so let’s dive right in. First up, UWW Cadet and University Nationals results.
Your 2017 UWW Cadet World Team
| WT | Wrestler (High School) | Class | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 46kg | Kurt McHenry (St. Paul Catholic, MD) | SO | |
| 50kg | Julian Tagg (Brecksville, OH) | FR | |
| 54kg | Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, NJ) | FR | |
| 58kg | Jordan Decatur (CVCA, OH) | SO | Ohio State |
| 63kg | Jacori Teemer (Long Beach, NY) | JR | Arizona State |
| 69kg | Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, IL) | JR | |
| 76kg | Travis Wittlake (Marshfield, OR) | JR | Penn State |
| 85kg | Gavin Hoffman (Montoursville, PA) | JR | Ohio State |
| 100kg | Daniel Kerkvliet (Smiley, MN) | SO | Minnesota |
Returning gold medalist Kurt McHenry destroyed an excellent field at 46kg, by a combined score of 43-2, to make the final. In the finals - which are a best 2-of-3 - he beat Jeremiah Reno 11-0 (in 1:18), and 10-0 (in 0:47). Grand total: 64-2. (Yikes).
The two biggest eyebrow raisers at Cadets may have been Jordan Decatur, who looked like a world medalist at 58kg, and Jacori Teemer, who tech’d - twice - 2018 top 10 recruit Sammy Sasso (Nazareth, PA). Impressive work by both this weekend.
Finally, big congrats to PSU commit Travis Wittlake, who cleared a loaded 76kg bracket, each of whom had his sights set on taking out the returning World bronze medalist - to no avail. Way to go, Travis.
University Nationals
| WT | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57kg | Luke Welch (PUR) | David Terao (AMER) | Gary Harding (OKST) | Sean Russell (BORO) | Ethan Lizak (MINN) |
| 61kg | John Erneste (MIZZ) | Taylor Lamont (UVU) | Markus Simmons (ISU) | J.Rubio () | Ian Parker (ISU) |
| 65kg | Robert Mathers (ASU-grad) | Tommy Thorn (MINN) | Brock Zacherl (CLAR) | Earl Hall (ISU) | Collin Purinton (NEB) |
| 70kg | Brandon Sorensen (IOWA) | Grant Lamont (UVU) | Mitch Finesilver (DUKE) | Troy Heilmann (UNC-grad) | Max Thomsen (UNI) |
| 74kg | Chance Marsteller (LHU) | C.Flynn () | Joey Lavallee (MIZZ) | Ian Brown (LEH) | Josh Shields (ASU) |
| 80kg | Jordan Kutler (LEH) | Jacobe Smith (OKST) | Daniel Lewis (MIZZ) | Devin Skatzka (IND) | Kimball Bastian (UVU) |
| 86kg | Myles Martin (OHST) | Pete Renda (NCST) | Ryan Preisch (LEH) | Keegan Moore (OKST) | Ricky Robertson (WISC) |
| 97kg | Jeric Kasunic (AMER) | Dan Chaid (UNC) | Ben Darmstadt (CORN) | Mike Smith () | Bobby Steveson (MINN) |
| 125kg | Garrett Ryan (COLU) | Michael Hughes () | Tanner Hall (ASU) | C.Daniels () | Malik McDonald (NCST) |
Like McHenry, Chance Marsteller tech’d the field, rolling 10-0 over everyone. Congrats, Chance, and keep it going.
Jordan Kutler - top 4 last year at 157lbs before injuries ended his season - looked pretty good up at 176 lbs. Makes you wonder how Lehigh’s lineup shakes out next year.
Oh by the way - looks like John Smith has some replacements lined up for Kyle Crutchmer (174) and Nolan Boyd (184), in Jacobe Smith and Keegan Moore.
Team Trials
Later this week we’ll get brackets for the Junior (20 and under) and Senior (men with beards) World Team Trials. Class of 2017 recruits Brady Berge and Jarod Verkleeren have already registered for Juniors at 66kg. Expect to see fellow Class of ‘17er Nick Lee join the list. As a reminder, Mark Hall gets a free pass to the finals at 74kg because he already destroyed everyone at the US Open 5 weeks ago.
At the senior level, you know the names already. Nico at 57kg, Zain and Molinaro at 65kg, Nolf at 70kg, Magic Man and Bo at 86kg. All must fight thru the “challenge bracket” to reach the best-of-3 final. We’ll swing back around later in the week once the seeding/brackets have been drawn by USA Wrestling.
Other Stuff
>Blue Mountain’s (via Central Michigan) Corey Keener was granted a 6th year of eligibility, and has grad transferred home to Dear Old State, where family and friends can drive to watch him wrestle in Rec Hall. Corey will likely battle for the 133-lb spot in the lineup, with as-yet-unknown contestants. He’s tough, physical, and very good defensively. His go-to takedown is probably his double leg. He’s qualified for NCAAs multiple times, but has yet to grab a spot on the podium. Injuries killed his sophomore season entirely, and really hurt his last year at CMU. Here’s hoping Corey has a pain-free final run onto the podium for PSU.
>Conference Realignment...in wrestling? Northern Iowa, last year’s dual-season MAC champs, are whispered to be headed to the Big12, according to our friends at IAWrestle.com. And SIUE, in the Southern Conference last week, will be joining the MAC. The curious part is that, contrary to football realignment, these moves actually make geographic sense.