2010/2011 Big 10 Wrestling Predictions: All Weights & Team Scores Posted

It would seem like it would make sense to have futrell go 25 and white 33. Maybe the kid grew but as gantry said he was a little guy.

141

Illinois
Jimmy Kennedy: Here we've got yet another guy for Illinois who will be coming off taking a redshirt last season. The difference here is that Kennedy is just a bit more credentialed at this level than White and Futrell. 2x AA down at 133. Got knocked off in the first round of NCAA's two years ago before storming through the consolation bracket. Move up should treat him well as he was a very big 133.

Indiana:
Ryan Nieman: Nieman is someone who I think comes in and if he wrestles as a true freshman like he seems to be expected to I think will have a very solid season. Spent quite a bit of time last year as the #1 135 pounder in the country. From the little I saw of him seems like a guy who likes to wrestle a high pace, and a good tough scrambler.

Iowa
Mark Ballweg: Keeping McDonough and Moore down looks like its going to allow Iowa to work another Ballweg into the line up here this year. I've honestly never seen Mark wrestle folkstyle before, he's had some solid results freestyle results this spring and if he's in the Iowa line up he should be at least serviceable. Iowa's lowest ranked guy in my predictions right now.

Michigan
Kellen Russell: In the two years that he's wrestled officially Russell has two Big 10 titles. I don't see that trend changing this coming year and as of right now Russell is my predicted Big 10 champion. Like Kennedy he took a redshirt last year. Never really been an overwhelming guy. Scores with his stuff from the feet when he needs to, at his best on the mat. Good scrambler.

Michigan State
Dan Osterman: This could also wind up being Colin Dozier but I think they wind up going with Osterman as he had some decent matches last year once he stepped into the line up. Still its going to be tough for him as this weight is going to be one of the two toughest weights in the entire conference.

Minnesota
Mike Thorn: Here we have our reigning Big 10 champion. Thorn came out last year and was more consistent than he was the year prior but still had some ups and downs through out the year as well. Loves to get into big scrambles and is very good at it, but that tendency will still come back and bite him occasionally. After Jordan Oliver will probably be the most hated competitor in the country by Iowa fans.

Northwestern
Colin Shober: I don't know if Keith Sulzer has gotten himself trapped under a rock or something but since he isn't on the Northwestern roster anymore it seems as though this spot will be filled by either Shober or Kaleb Friedley. Both guys come in as highly regarded true freshmen but like I said with Osterman its going to be difficult to make an impact given how tough this weight class is going to be.

Ohio State
Collin Palmer: This comes about with the caveat of if he's healthy. There seem to be rumors out there of a lingering injury that may keep him out of the line up this year or if he wrestles limit his effectiveness. If he's healthy and wrestling I think Collin comes in and has an excellent year. In watching him he's basically a smaller version of his brother and Lance has 4 All American finishes that testify to the effectiveness of the style that they wrestle.

Penn State
Dylan Alton: Consensus seems to be that this is going to be an Alton, the question only seems to be which one will it be. Right now I'm running under the assumption that has been rumored early last year that Dylan will go first since he's a little bigger. We know the story with either Alton. Both are excellent on the feet and both have experience wrestling in college tournaments already. If he can figure out mat wrestling then he'll be well suited to have a lot of success

Purdue
Juan Archuleta: Archuleta is a guy last year who was just solid. Didn't necessarily set the world on fire but you always knew he was there through out the season. He had an overtime win late in the year over Thorn and went into NCAA's as a guy who was an AA sleeper. In all likelihood he'll probably wind up playing a similar role this coming year.

Wisconsin
John Prezzia: The one guy on this list who I've never heard of. With the rumor of Cole Schmitt moving up to 149 if that happens someone will have to step in here. Prezzia is the only guy on Wisconsin's roster listed at that weight. He's a guy who redshirted last year, don't really know a ton about him.

Most Improved
Kellen Russell: Almost going with Russell by default here since I've got him winning the weight and don't really see a guy off the top of my head who I think is going to be miles better this year. If during his redshirt year he's figured a way to become a little more dynamic with his own offense then this is an accolade that he'd probably win anyway.

Best Freshman
Collin Palmer: Lot of freshmen here possibly in this weight class, and like I said there is a possibility that Palmer won't be here but if he is I like him to be the best guy here. Again that's a testament to the style that he and his brother wrestle.

Conference Final
Kellen Russell v. Jimmy Kennedy

Full
1. Kellen Russell
2. Jimmy Kennedy
3. Mike Thorn
4. Collin Palmer
5. Juan Archuleta
6. Dylan Alton
7. Ryan Nieman
8. Mark Ballweg
9. Colin Shober
10. Dan Osterman
11. John Prezzia

NCAA Qualifiers: Russell, Kennedy, Thorn, Palmer, Archuleta, Alton, Nieman

IIRC injuries caught up with Sulzer and his career is over. Though you don't want to listen to rumors, it sure does seem like Colin Palmer will be out or severely limited and I wouldn't rank him that high. In fact I'm pretty sure he brother hinted as much in an interview. Then again until OSU says something I can see you ranking him as if he's healthy.

I'm going Kennedy over Russell, I think his offense and technique is so solid that Kennedy will be able to avoid the scramble counters of Kellen.

Where will you put Montell when he gets back in the lineup?

Cell Block C-Cell 3/ bunk 2U.

Hahahahahaha!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Herkey#1

Where will you put Montell when he gets back in the lineup?

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After I finish making snarky comments about Brands only having him back because he made the finals last year, I'd probably put him 3rd or 4th.

4th being more likely than 3rd.

149

Illinois
Eric Terrazas: Terrazas had an interesting year last year in terms of his wins and losses starting off his season with an 11-0 record. The issue that once he made his way into the Big 10 season he went 1-8 over his last nine matches with his only win coming in overtime over Matt Coughlin who isn't in the weight class anymore.

Indiana
Alex Warren: I know Russ and others have been making noises that this is going to be Kurt Kinser here but the sheer idea of cutting Kinser and Young down seems so ridiculously dumb to me I'm not going to acknowledge it in my predictions until its confirmed as happening. That leaves us with Warren here for the Hoosiers. Don't know much about him to be honest. He's in a weight class with a lot of quality wrestlers so he'll have a little bit of a tough road to hoe.

Iowa
Dylan Carew: Carew is a guy who I've heard a lot about but have never seen him wrestle folkstyle. He's a guy who had a decent University Nationals tournament this spring including a win over Grajales. He's a tall lanky guy who is apparently pretty tough on top. Not a super well known guy out of high school but he's done a good job carving a spot out for himself in the Iowa line up at least for this coming year.

Michigan
Eric Grajales: Seems like its been forever since we've seen Grajales out on the mat and wrestling. I noted earlier that there is the possibility that he isn't at this weight and instead is wrestling down at 133. Only possible limiting factor for him coming in is if he isn't big enough but looking at video of him from over the summer he looks like he's done a nice job building his body up. Wrestling for two years now with a guy like Kellen Russell who certainly knows a little bit about making an impact as a freshman can only help him starting off this year as well.

Michigan State
David Cheza: Cheza is a guy who came out last year and had a really nice year for Michigan State. He struggled some at the start of the year but really emerged after Midlands as he put up some nice wins and spent most of the last half of the season ranked in the 10-12 range in the rankings. He's got a nice aggressive little style. Really does a good job at getting the best out of his talent.

Minnesota
Danny Zilverburg: Much in the same vein as Carew we've got a tall lanky guy who wasn't highly recruited who has managed to work hard and carve a spot out in the line up for himself at one of the top schools in the country. He had a solid year last year as a redshirt but then really announced himself at FILA Juniors this year when he won a pretty loaded bracket by defeating both Altons in consecutive matches. He wound up going down to Jason Chamberlain in the 3 match series to make Junior Worlds but he wrestled Chamberlain tough in those matches and looks like a guy who is ready to make an impact this year.

Northwestern
Andrew Nadhir: Nadhir is a guy who is pretty similar to Cheza. Both guys are solid wrestlers who wrestle hard and get the most out of their styles. Both guys also emerged during the second half of last season after having a little bit of a rough go of things to start the year off. Nadhir had a nice run into the Round of 12 last year at NCAA's so my placement of him here may seem comparatively low but that's partially a result of my feeling that he got a pretty favorable draw in order to make that run last year.

Ohio State
Sean Nemec: Yet another school with a plan to move guys down, this one is more confirmed than Indiana's supposed plan is and while for some reason I think Indiana's plan is the height of stupidity I can kind of see the wisdom of Ohio State doing it and I can't really put into words why I feel that way. Nemec had a tough go last year. He was decent during the time he was in the line up but lost his spot to Tony Jameson for a while before working his way back into the line up at the end of the year. How he does this year will likely correspond to how well he manages his weight cut.

Penn State
Frank Molinaro: Like Graff at 133 coming into the year at this weight class its going to be Frank Molinaro's world with everyone else just living in it until we get further notice. Molinaro was arguably one of the most improved guys in the country last year as a result of his move up in weight as he put up his second All American finish in two years. At his best wrestling his aggressive style from the feet. Takes a lot of shots and likes to try and beat guys up with his hand fighting. Not superlative on top but he's good enough to turn some guys and to get riding time when he needs it. Weak spot seems to be on bottom but as of right now I don't think there is anyone in the conference good enough to be able to make him pay there. All the guys he lost to both within the conference and nationally have graduated.

Purdue
Sam Patacsil: There exists a possibility that this could be true freshman Kendrick Sanders and if it is the possibility does exist that he could have a season that repeats what Cashe Quiroga did this past year, maybe not to the point of making the semi's at NCAA's but having a quality year within the conference and possibly knocking some guys off at NCAA's would be well within his grasp. As of right now though I've got the younger Patacsil here. In what little we've seen of him he's kind of similar to his brother to where he's going to try and make his money on the mat but he isn't as adept with the tilt series as his brother was which makes things tough for him.

Wisconsin:
Cole Schmitt: Schmitt is a guy I just have a feeling about coming into the year this year. Had his first big win last year at National Duals when he knocked off Alex Krom in the wake of Krom's Midlands championship, over the rest of the year he had his ups and he had his downs in a tough 141 pound weight class within the conference.

Best Freshman
Eric Grajales: Like I said its going to be really interesting to see Grajales come out this year at whatever weight class he's at and really be a kind of under the radar guy at least to start the year off. Didn't wrestle any folkstyle matches last year then came out and wrestled one freestyle tournament this spring where he took some losses including one in a three period match to Dylan Carew. I think once he gets his feet underneath him this coming year he's a guy that really emerges and reminds people why he was seen as even up with David Taylor when they were coming out of high school two years ago.

Most Improved
Cole Schmitt: While it may seem odd to have someone I'm projecting to finish 5th (same placing as last season) in this most improved spot Schmitt fits the bill for me. I think he's a guy who after going 17-17 last year comes out and is markedly more consistent this year. Also the 5th place isn't the same 5th place as it would be at certain other weight classes. Like the 2-4 spots at 133 I really think 2-5 here at this weight class could all be relatively interchangeable and that any of those four guys could find themselves in the conference final against Molinaro if they get hot at the right time.

Conference Final
Frank Molinaro v. Eric Grajales

Full
1. Frank Molinaro
2. Eric Grajales
3. Danny Zilverburg
4. Dylan Carew
5. Cole Schmitt
6. David Cheza
7. Andrew Nadhir
8. Sean Nemec
9. Sam Patacsil
10. Eric Terrazas
11. Alex Warren

NCAA Qualifiers: Molinaro, Grajales, Zilverburg, Carew, Schmitt, Cheza, Nadhir

J,
Won eight of 12 bouts on the season, including a perfect 5-0 record in dual-match starts ... tallied bonus points five times with three major decisions and two tech falls ... garnered 18 team points in five dual matches ... notched two majors and a tech fall in three wins at the Michigan State Open and Southern Scuffle. SOPHOMORE SEASON (2008-09)
Compiled an overall record of 10-8 with four pins, a tech fall and a major decision ... made two starts, winning both via a pin and a tech fall ... placed fifth at the Eastern Michigan Open after going 4-2 in the event ... won at least one match in all four tournaments competed in ... tallied a pair of victories at the Cleveland State Open.
FRESHMAN SEASON (2007-08)
Went 5-7 with a pin, a tech fall and a major decision ... won three of four dual matches ... 2-1 at the Hoosier Duals, defeating Jeff Steele (Univ. of the Cumberlands) and A.J. Guardado (Duke) ... pinned Central Missouri's Grant Baker in 1:19 at the Missouri Open ... earned an 18-2 tech fall at the F.I.T.E. Duals.
REDSHIRT SEASON (2006-07)
Won 11 of 20 matches during his redshirt season ... totaled two pin falls, three tech falls and a major decision ... placed sixth at the Missouri Open Freshman/Sophomore Division by winning five matches ... took home the "W" in four matches at the Cleveland State Open
PREP/PERSONAL
Was a four-year letterwinner at Mooresville High School ... brought home a state championship at 130 pounds to finish off an undefeated senior season ... in his junior year, suffered just one loss and finished as state runner-up at 125 pounds ... qualified for state championship as a sophomore at 112 pounds ... was a two-time Fargo All-American in Greco-Roman wrestling ... also was a FILA Cadet runner-up and a Cliff Keen High School All-American ... went undefeated at the Greco Junior Duals in 2006 ... graduated with an Academic Honors Diploma ... has two brothers, Andy and..
Everyone thought this kid was going to be all-world-did NOT pan out that way . Max Ortega was 19-10 at 141 and may man the spot here as he had a lot of weight issues at 141 .