I love that the board is getting active for RU's matches this weekend. Here is my take on OU. I'll preview each match as time permits. Please note this is a very conservative prediction. 141, 149 and 174 could make the match way more lopsided towards RU. Either way, I expect us to win here.
Oklahoma: OU holds wrestle-offs tonight. They are a very young team so the results could be a huge factor into their lineup for the weekend. Either way it will give us some good recon on the team depending on match-ups. It is definitely in OU's best interest to wrestle Brewer down at 133. They have a solid team but they have holes and we match up pretty well against them.
125- They have three guys listed here. Sean Williams, a strong, solid guy with experience from California wrestled McCabe last year. McCabe won 4-3. It looks like the starter will be So. Ryan Millhof, a three time state champ and 2-time Super 32 champ from Georgia. He was 16-15 last year wrestling as a true freshman. I watched him in HS and he was stud and a very slick wrestler. I like McCabe a lot. He is good on his feet, keeps good position and has a great gas tank. This is a toss up but I hope if McCabe wrestles a tough physical match he can pull it out.
3-0 RU
133-Could be NCAA champ Brewer here. If not, there is only one other 133 lber listed, true freshman Dylan Lucas. I think they might slot a junior, Sean Williams in there as well. Lucas is a very talented four time state champ from Florida who made the junior world team for Greco (interesting because Giraldo is also a very good Greco wrestler). I'm not sure whether they would burn a redshirt when Brewer is ultimately going down to 133, most likely. or Lucas wrestles I think we pull out a close one. If it's Brewer it could be be a major even with how good Giraldo's defense is.
With Brewer at 133 3-3 OU; Otherwise 6-0 RU
141- There are 5 guys listed at 141. Seems like another reason to try to get Brewer down to 133 for this match, in particular. On the other hand of the five guys, one is a true freshman, three are redshirt freshmen and the last guy is a sophomore, so no real veteran in the bunch. So. Trae Blackwell, a two time state champ from Kentucky, was 14-7 as a true freshman. Ashnault teched him 15-0 last year. Blackwell improved greatly as the year went on beating NCAA q. Mike Morales (Brick HS) of West Virginia at the Big 12 Tournament for 3rd place. Redshirt Fr. Jacob Rubio, two time state champ and Fargo placer from Texas, and Noah Teaney, three time state champ from Missouri, might also suit up. Ashnault wins here against anyone besides Brewer. Should be a great battle against Brewer because both are so good on their feet. Hoping that a strength advantage will play to Ashnault's advantage re. defending and finishing shots but still have to giveth advantage to Brewer.
With Brewer at 133, 7-3 RU; With Brewer at 141 6-3 RU
149- Three guys listed here. Redshirt So. Shayne Tucker was 15-18 last year. Theo beat him 9-2 last year. Like Blackwell he improved as the year went on winning the Big 12 Tourney defeating #9 Gabe Moreno of Iowa State in the Semis. True freshman Davion Jeffries, 2 time Oklahoma state champ, was a top 5 recruit at 138 and could factor in here as well. I would be very confident here if Theobold was wrestling. I like Dippery but he gets in terrible positions (totally extended underneath trying to hit that barrel roll) on his feet and I question his gas tank. He's a good scrambler and I'm hoping he can steal a takedown and hammer the guy on top. Toss up, advantage OU.
With Brewer at 133, 7-6 RU; With Brewer at 141, 6-6
157- Only one guy listed at 157, redshirt freshman Brock Wingbermuehle who was a 3x state champ from Missouri. However, they have a ton of guys listed at 165 so I have to assume one of them possibly drops to 157. There could be movement up if, say, Davion Jeffries beats out Tucker for the spot or vice versa. I love what I have seen of Richie Lewis so far. He is very aggressive and strong on his feet, fully commits to his opportunities, tough on bottom, can scramble and stays in good position. He reminds me a bit of Daryl Cocozzo except Richie seems to have a lit bit more upside/potential. We should take this weight.
With Brewer at 133, 10-6 RU; With Brewer at 141, 9-6 RU
165- NCAA at large qualifier and redshirt jr. Clark Glass (20-15 overall) looks to be the guy here. Was a top recruit (#36 overall; #3 at 170) out of High School winning four state titles in Florida. He went 2-2 at NCAA's in 2015 and is a tough wrestler. Still Perrotti should win this one and it's important that he does. I'm giving us the nod here.
With Brewer at 133, 13-6 RU; With Brewer at 141, 12-6 RU
174- Another NCAA at large qualifier here in redshirt jr. Matt Reed (27-13 overall) who was ranked as high as #16th last year. Bakuckas beat him in a very tight match, 4-3 last year. Reed was stronger on his feet and looked like the better wrestler in the 3rd period. He also notched wins against four ranked wrestlers but only went 1-2 at NCAA's. However 174 was a very deep weight last year. I want to to believe that Bakuckas is going to have a break out year but I'm concerned that he gets too conservative on his feet against better guys. He is very strong defensively but so far that has just meant close losses. He seems like a really hard worker and I'm pulling for him but I'm giving this bout to OU.
With Brewer at 133, 13-9 RU; With Brewer at 141, 12-9 RU
184- OU has two talented younger wrestlers here in soph. Andrew Dixon (12-17) who wrestled up at 197 as a true freshman and soph. Nathan Marek (6-2 before getting injured). Dixon was a top recruit winning Oklahoma states twice and placing at Fargo multiple times. Dixon is a triplet, all of whom wrestle for OU so one of the other two coming off redshirt could wrestle here as well. Gravina is tough but maybe a little undersized for the weight. This is a true toss up weight in my eyes. Let's go OU to keep things interesting.
With Brewer at 133, 13-12 RU; With Brewer at 141, 12-12 RU
197- It's not clear who will start here. In last year's dual against RU, redshirt jr. Brad Johnson (10-7) beat Anthony Pafumi 3-2. It looks like Andrew Dixon won the spot by the end of the year but will wrestle 184 this year as previously stated. So, either Johnson or one of the Dixon brothers coming off redshirt should get the nod. Hayden Hrymack came up huge against OU last year and I expect the same this year. He is probably the most improved RU wrestler, has a great attitude and is strong on top. Advantage RU.
With Brewer at 133, 16-12 RU; With Brewer at 141, 15-12 RU
285- 2x NCAA q. Ross Larson will wrestle here. He has some good wins over ranked guys and was ranked #15 at the NCAA Tourney last year. Billy wrestled him at NCAA's and probably wrestled his best match of the year beating Larson by major decision. Have to expect Billy to prevail here.
With Brewer at 133, 19-12 RU; With Brewer at 141, 18-12 RU
Oklahoma: OU holds wrestle-offs tonight. They are a very young team so the results could be a huge factor into their lineup for the weekend. Either way it will give us some good recon on the team depending on match-ups. It is definitely in OU's best interest to wrestle Brewer down at 133. They have a solid team but they have holes and we match up pretty well against them.
125- They have three guys listed here. Sean Williams, a strong, solid guy with experience from California wrestled McCabe last year. McCabe won 4-3. It looks like the starter will be So. Ryan Millhof, a three time state champ and 2-time Super 32 champ from Georgia. He was 16-15 last year wrestling as a true freshman. I watched him in HS and he was stud and a very slick wrestler. I like McCabe a lot. He is good on his feet, keeps good position and has a great gas tank. This is a toss up but I hope if McCabe wrestles a tough physical match he can pull it out.
3-0 RU
133-Could be NCAA champ Brewer here. If not, there is only one other 133 lber listed, true freshman Dylan Lucas. I think they might slot a junior, Sean Williams in there as well. Lucas is a very talented four time state champ from Florida who made the junior world team for Greco (interesting because Giraldo is also a very good Greco wrestler). I'm not sure whether they would burn a redshirt when Brewer is ultimately going down to 133, most likely. or Lucas wrestles I think we pull out a close one. If it's Brewer it could be be a major even with how good Giraldo's defense is.
With Brewer at 133 3-3 OU; Otherwise 6-0 RU
141- There are 5 guys listed at 141. Seems like another reason to try to get Brewer down to 133 for this match, in particular. On the other hand of the five guys, one is a true freshman, three are redshirt freshmen and the last guy is a sophomore, so no real veteran in the bunch. So. Trae Blackwell, a two time state champ from Kentucky, was 14-7 as a true freshman. Ashnault teched him 15-0 last year. Blackwell improved greatly as the year went on beating NCAA q. Mike Morales (Brick HS) of West Virginia at the Big 12 Tournament for 3rd place. Redshirt Fr. Jacob Rubio, two time state champ and Fargo placer from Texas, and Noah Teaney, three time state champ from Missouri, might also suit up. Ashnault wins here against anyone besides Brewer. Should be a great battle against Brewer because both are so good on their feet. Hoping that a strength advantage will play to Ashnault's advantage re. defending and finishing shots but still have to giveth advantage to Brewer.
With Brewer at 133, 7-3 RU; With Brewer at 141 6-3 RU
149- Three guys listed here. Redshirt So. Shayne Tucker was 15-18 last year. Theo beat him 9-2 last year. Like Blackwell he improved as the year went on winning the Big 12 Tourney defeating #9 Gabe Moreno of Iowa State in the Semis. True freshman Davion Jeffries, 2 time Oklahoma state champ, was a top 5 recruit at 138 and could factor in here as well. I would be very confident here if Theobold was wrestling. I like Dippery but he gets in terrible positions (totally extended underneath trying to hit that barrel roll) on his feet and I question his gas tank. He's a good scrambler and I'm hoping he can steal a takedown and hammer the guy on top. Toss up, advantage OU.
With Brewer at 133, 7-6 RU; With Brewer at 141, 6-6
157- Only one guy listed at 157, redshirt freshman Brock Wingbermuehle who was a 3x state champ from Missouri. However, they have a ton of guys listed at 165 so I have to assume one of them possibly drops to 157. There could be movement up if, say, Davion Jeffries beats out Tucker for the spot or vice versa. I love what I have seen of Richie Lewis so far. He is very aggressive and strong on his feet, fully commits to his opportunities, tough on bottom, can scramble and stays in good position. He reminds me a bit of Daryl Cocozzo except Richie seems to have a lit bit more upside/potential. We should take this weight.
With Brewer at 133, 10-6 RU; With Brewer at 141, 9-6 RU
165- NCAA at large qualifier and redshirt jr. Clark Glass (20-15 overall) looks to be the guy here. Was a top recruit (#36 overall; #3 at 170) out of High School winning four state titles in Florida. He went 2-2 at NCAA's in 2015 and is a tough wrestler. Still Perrotti should win this one and it's important that he does. I'm giving us the nod here.
With Brewer at 133, 13-6 RU; With Brewer at 141, 12-6 RU
174- Another NCAA at large qualifier here in redshirt jr. Matt Reed (27-13 overall) who was ranked as high as #16th last year. Bakuckas beat him in a very tight match, 4-3 last year. Reed was stronger on his feet and looked like the better wrestler in the 3rd period. He also notched wins against four ranked wrestlers but only went 1-2 at NCAA's. However 174 was a very deep weight last year. I want to to believe that Bakuckas is going to have a break out year but I'm concerned that he gets too conservative on his feet against better guys. He is very strong defensively but so far that has just meant close losses. He seems like a really hard worker and I'm pulling for him but I'm giving this bout to OU.
With Brewer at 133, 13-9 RU; With Brewer at 141, 12-9 RU
184- OU has two talented younger wrestlers here in soph. Andrew Dixon (12-17) who wrestled up at 197 as a true freshman and soph. Nathan Marek (6-2 before getting injured). Dixon was a top recruit winning Oklahoma states twice and placing at Fargo multiple times. Dixon is a triplet, all of whom wrestle for OU so one of the other two coming off redshirt could wrestle here as well. Gravina is tough but maybe a little undersized for the weight. This is a true toss up weight in my eyes. Let's go OU to keep things interesting.
With Brewer at 133, 13-12 RU; With Brewer at 141, 12-12 RU
197- It's not clear who will start here. In last year's dual against RU, redshirt jr. Brad Johnson (10-7) beat Anthony Pafumi 3-2. It looks like Andrew Dixon won the spot by the end of the year but will wrestle 184 this year as previously stated. So, either Johnson or one of the Dixon brothers coming off redshirt should get the nod. Hayden Hrymack came up huge against OU last year and I expect the same this year. He is probably the most improved RU wrestler, has a great attitude and is strong on top. Advantage RU.
With Brewer at 133, 16-12 RU; With Brewer at 141, 15-12 RU
285- 2x NCAA q. Ross Larson will wrestle here. He has some good wins over ranked guys and was ranked #15 at the NCAA Tourney last year. Billy wrestled him at NCAA's and probably wrestled his best match of the year beating Larson by major decision. Have to expect Billy to prevail here.
With Brewer at 133, 19-12 RU; With Brewer at 141, 18-12 RU
