Post by johnnythompsonnum1 on Aug 4, 2014 9:11:16 GMT -5
125 - Leading the way from the west coast to St. Louis from the 125 lbs weight class, will be Stanford's Evan Silver who should win this year's PAC-12 championship with relative ease.
133 - The fight for a PAC-12 title will be between Cal Poly's Devon Lotito and Oregon State's Joey Palmer.
141 - Oregon State sophomore Joey Delgado looks poised to defend his title, but he'll have to get past Cal State Bakersfield's Ian Nickell in order to win his second championship. Easier said than done.
149 - If I had to pick the best wrestler to not qualify for last year's NCAA championships, I'm not sure exactly who I'd pick, but I know for a fact that among the top three would be Boise State's Chris Castillo. 149 as a whole is an extremely interesting weight class with tons of parity, and not only do I believe we'll see Castillo take his first PAC-12 championship next year, but we could also see him grab his first All American award at the NCAA's. Also look for possible competition out of Cal Poly's Blake Kastl.
157 - Once again, if I had to pick the best wrestler not to qualify for last year's NCAA championships, I'm not exactly sure who I'd pick, but without a doubt among the top three would be Cal Poly sophomore Max Schneider who I believe will turn a lot of heads during the season this year. Schneider wrestles a very in your face, constant crowding style that I would love to see against James Green. I think Schneider stands a good chance against Green, because he wrestles a very similarly to Jedd Moore who defeated Green twice two years ago. Expect big things out of Schneider this year, because if he's healthy, he'll deliver.
165 - Stanford sophomore Jim Wilson was one of the biggest surprises of last year's PAC-12 championships, but this year will be expected to do as well as he did last year.
174 - As of right now it may seem that Cal State Bakersfield All American Bryce Hammond has this one in the bag, but 174 in the PAC-12 is far more competitive than some may realize. Finals opponent Joe Latham of Oregon State returns as does former PAC-12 champion Dom Kastl of Cal Poly. If those two already aren't enough competition for Hammond, Sun Devil Kevin Radford will be in the mix as well.
184 - After not having the type of tournament he was hoping for last season, junior Blake Stauffer of Arizona State looks to win a PAC-12 championship this season.
197 - I'm not exactly sure what was going on with Oregon State senior Taylor Meeks last season, but hopefully whatever it was, it has came and went. If on, Meeks is one of the best 197 lbs'ers in the entire country and he'll contend strongly for the NCAA championship.
HWT - When discussing all of the plausible names of could be NCAA champions in the HWT division, a lot of names come up among wrestling fans. One of the names that probably isn't coming up all that often, but will soon is Kyle Colling of Arizona State. Before getting injured last season, Colling had some impressive wins in his resume, including one over Indiana's Adam Chalfant. Also qualifying for the NCAA championships, and most likely making a finals appearance against Colling in the PAC-12 will be Oregon State's Amaveer Dhesi, who I believe may be the only Canadian wrestling Division I this upcoming season.
Overall what I take away most from the PAC-12 is the regression of the Boise State Broncos, who at one time contended for the PAC-12 championships, and had top 15 results at the NCAA championships. From where it stands right now, their best hope for a PAC-12 championship is Chris Castillo. He may be their only qualifier this year as well. On a positive note, I don't think that Cal Poly will challenge Oregon State for the PAC-12 title, but I do see them in the running for 2nd place. As a big fan of Stanford head coach Jason Borrelli, I hope to see both Silver and Wilson do well next year.
133 - The fight for a PAC-12 title will be between Cal Poly's Devon Lotito and Oregon State's Joey Palmer.
141 - Oregon State sophomore Joey Delgado looks poised to defend his title, but he'll have to get past Cal State Bakersfield's Ian Nickell in order to win his second championship. Easier said than done.
149 - If I had to pick the best wrestler to not qualify for last year's NCAA championships, I'm not sure exactly who I'd pick, but I know for a fact that among the top three would be Boise State's Chris Castillo. 149 as a whole is an extremely interesting weight class with tons of parity, and not only do I believe we'll see Castillo take his first PAC-12 championship next year, but we could also see him grab his first All American award at the NCAA's. Also look for possible competition out of Cal Poly's Blake Kastl.
157 - Once again, if I had to pick the best wrestler not to qualify for last year's NCAA championships, I'm not exactly sure who I'd pick, but without a doubt among the top three would be Cal Poly sophomore Max Schneider who I believe will turn a lot of heads during the season this year. Schneider wrestles a very in your face, constant crowding style that I would love to see against James Green. I think Schneider stands a good chance against Green, because he wrestles a very similarly to Jedd Moore who defeated Green twice two years ago. Expect big things out of Schneider this year, because if he's healthy, he'll deliver.
165 - Stanford sophomore Jim Wilson was one of the biggest surprises of last year's PAC-12 championships, but this year will be expected to do as well as he did last year.
174 - As of right now it may seem that Cal State Bakersfield All American Bryce Hammond has this one in the bag, but 174 in the PAC-12 is far more competitive than some may realize. Finals opponent Joe Latham of Oregon State returns as does former PAC-12 champion Dom Kastl of Cal Poly. If those two already aren't enough competition for Hammond, Sun Devil Kevin Radford will be in the mix as well.
184 - After not having the type of tournament he was hoping for last season, junior Blake Stauffer of Arizona State looks to win a PAC-12 championship this season.
197 - I'm not exactly sure what was going on with Oregon State senior Taylor Meeks last season, but hopefully whatever it was, it has came and went. If on, Meeks is one of the best 197 lbs'ers in the entire country and he'll contend strongly for the NCAA championship.
HWT - When discussing all of the plausible names of could be NCAA champions in the HWT division, a lot of names come up among wrestling fans. One of the names that probably isn't coming up all that often, but will soon is Kyle Colling of Arizona State. Before getting injured last season, Colling had some impressive wins in his resume, including one over Indiana's Adam Chalfant. Also qualifying for the NCAA championships, and most likely making a finals appearance against Colling in the PAC-12 will be Oregon State's Amaveer Dhesi, who I believe may be the only Canadian wrestling Division I this upcoming season.
Overall what I take away most from the PAC-12 is the regression of the Boise State Broncos, who at one time contended for the PAC-12 championships, and had top 15 results at the NCAA championships. From where it stands right now, their best hope for a PAC-12 championship is Chris Castillo. He may be their only qualifier this year as well. On a positive note, I don't think that Cal Poly will challenge Oregon State for the PAC-12 title, but I do see them in the running for 2nd place. As a big fan of Stanford head coach Jason Borrelli, I hope to see both Silver and Wilson do well next year.