Big Ten 141 pounds

[german663]

I am a huge fan of Andrew Alton at Penn State. I like that kid, and he's done exceptionally well for a freshman. But with his third loss to Kellen Russell this past weekend and his loss to Marion of Iowa a week ago, I'm afraid that I don't see Alton winning a Big Ten Championship, let alone the NCAA, this year. And, based on the way Marion is wrestling, I'm not sure that Kellen Russell is a lock either. I was wondering about how people saw this weight class and the potential match-ups. I will be attending my first Big Ten Championships this year and I'm very excited. My own prediction is Marion vs Russell with Marion winning by decision. Alton coming in either third or fourth. It would be cool if Alton pulled off a huge upset and won, but the chances seem low of that happening.

[JensenS]

Marion has had two matches since he's gotten back in the line up, in my eyes those two matches aren't enough to discount the season that Russell has had so far.

Before Marion's win over Alton the only opponent that the consensus 2-5 guys (Thorn, Kennedy, Novachkov, Alton) had lost to was Kellen Russell.

He's the clear favorite.

[german663]

All right, but one more thought on this: Kellen and Alton have had three very close matches. Marion's victory over Alton wasn't really very close. After Alton's initial (and spectacular) take down, everything just went south. Can we draw any conclusions from that as to how well Marion might do in a match with Russell?

[JensenS]

Can we draw any conclusions from that as to how well Marion might do in a match with Russell?

Not in my eyes.

Although in reference to Marion's match against Alton, if he digs himself into a hole against Russell he isn't going to be making that deficit up.

[german663]

In the discussion above, I make it sound like only three guys are going to show up to wrestle. But what about Mike Thorn and Jimmy Kennedy? When I got to see NW take on Illinois, Kennedy was out of the line-up (a big disappointment for me). So, I really haven't seen him wrestle much this year. I've been able to watch Thorn wrestle a few times (TV and internet) and he's pretty impressive. I wonder how Alton will do against Thorn? And, I may be wrong, but I don't think Thorn has wrestled Russell yet this year. Or if they did wrestle, I guess I missed it.

[goferphan]

Its going to be a dog fight. When the top five are Russell, Thorn, Marion, Alton and Kennedy, thats pretty ridiculous.

[Herkey#1]

I don't think you can get a very clear picture of where Marion belongs in the conversation yet because he's not wrestled many matches yet this year. But it's hard not to put him right up there with those guys and ahead of Alton based on that match and last years results. This weight itself will be worth the price of admission to the BTT. I think Marion will win it but what do I know?

[TomWright25]

Russell beat Thorn in the finals of the Southern Scuffle. He's definitely in the mix as well.

[goferphan]

I would friendly wager Marion doesn't take that weight at Big Ten's Herkey with a signature bet?