Below is a selection of key matches to watch in Friday's quarterfinals, which get underway at 10 a.m. CT.
125: Dominic Parisi (Appalachian State) is looking to be the tournament's first Bracket Buster after wins against No. 5 Jarrod Garnett and No. 12 Tyler Cox. Up next for Mountaineer is No. 4 seed Nico Megaludis who looked solid in a decision victory against Christian Cullinan (CMU). I still like Nico to pull out the win, but the Iowa fans will be pulling for the App State Cinderella to help their push for a title in Des Moines.
133: In a subplot that won't likely influence the outcome of the overall bracket, you should know that No. 8 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) has beaten No. 1 Logan Stieber (tOSU). It wasn't recent, and it wasn't folkstyle, but it happened at Fila Jr. Nationals when Brewer won back-to-back periods. Otherwise the matches are all pretty static predictions. Ramos is on a tear and should be able to handle Morrison in the bottom quarterfinals. Look for McCormick to try and earn the upset over Graff.
141: Richard Durso became the crowd favorite in his second round win over Nick Dardanes of Minnesota. The Franklin & Marshall wrestler isn't a tricky one-off who was able to cement job his way through the EIWA tournament. He'll have Hunter Stieber (tOSU) but that's not as lopsided as the schools suggest. Durso is an All-American quality wrestler, and if Hunter doesn't respect his tank, skills and crowd appeal, it'll be a long seven minutes.
149: Steve Santos and Cole VonOhlen are meeting in the 4/5 match-up in the bottom side of the top bracket. VonOhlen was injured at the Western Regional tournament and gritted out a won against Dan Osterman (Michigan State), but he'll need more tomorrow to get past Santos who put a definitive well-wrestled match against Eric Grajales (Michigan). This will be entertaining, and also historic -- should Santos win he'll become the first semifinalist in modern Columbia wrestling history. Also Drake Houdashelt continues his run after beating No. 6 Dylan Ness of Minnesota in the second round. He'll face fellow unseeded wrestler Kevin Tao (American) for the right to be the tournament's first Bracket Buster! Look for Houdashelt to have his way.
157: Jason Welch of Northwestern squeezed past longtime nemesis Scotty Winston of Rutgers in an unimpressive second-round match. He'll need to be at his best tomorrow morning when he faces No 8 Dylan Alton of Penn State, the man he lost to in consolation finals last year. Just down the line is an on-fire No. 12 Jedd Moore of Virginia who bested No. 5 James Fleming of Clarion. He'll face unseeded David Bonin (UNI) for the other semifinal spot. Also keep an eye on Josh Demas (Ohio State) who wrestled No. 2 Derek St. John (Iowa) tight earlier in the year. Demas is unseeded and was able to get past Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech in the second round. Unseeded Georgi Ivanov (Boise State) and No. 6 Alex Dierenger (Oklahoma State) face off in the other quarterfinals. Ivanov was my Bracket Buster.
165: While Kyle Dake and David Taylor eye each other up from across the gym, the battle to meet them in the semifinals is happening with two very competitive quarterfinals. The leader of the Dake lottery is No. 12 Taylor Massa who is wrestling lights out and will face Oklahoma State's No. 4 Tyler Caldwell. I like Massa. Also, be sure to see if No. 3 Peter Yates will be able to wrestle from his knees and make it past No. 11 Cody Yohn, who will work the front headlock series many have thought would work
174: If the first meeting of Iowa and Minnesota on Thursday night was any indication (Ethan Lofthouse beating Kevin Steinhaus), the best match of the morning might be Mike Evans (Iowa) and Logan Storley (Minnesota). They're evenly matched and have a tradition, but when it comes to the brightest lights, Evans will have the edge in front of a very home crowd. The other match to watch is Matt Brown (Penn State) to see how he handles the upset special Tanner Weatherman who has beaten the No. 10 and No. 7 wrestler to make the quarterfinals. Superman Brown has it all figured out, earning a fall in his last match and looking like the best in the weight class.
184: It could be argued that No. 7 Jimmy Sheptock is wrestling the most impressive tournament at 184 outside of Ed Ruth. He'll face undefeated No. 2 Ben Bennett (CMU) in the bottom quarterfinal. Bennett is a monster of a human, as is Sheptock, so it'll come down to who can show some grit in getting off bottom, or staying off bottom in the case of Sheptock. To win, he'll need to earn takedowns, keep up the pressure and remain off his belly. I also like No. 6 Ryan Loder (UNI) to find the upset against No. 3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh), mostly by working Hamlin on the mat.
197: Planet Kilgore. Watch and learn what domination and enjoyment look like on the wrestling mat. But lurking is Penn State's Quentin Wright, who would love to earn another title. Collision Course, people. BOOM.
285: Minnesota's Tony Nelson knew it would be a tough tournament, but he probably didn't think he'd be facing Jarrod Trice of Central Michigan in the quarterfinals. Expect Nelson to control the action on his feet and possibly even find a ride time point, but also know that Trice doesn't stop. If there's an opening late, then Trice will be attacking all angles. Another fun matchup will be No. 11 J.T. Felix of Boise State and No. 3 Alan Gelogaev of Oklahoma State, who opened up the tournament with an 18-second fall over Ben Apland of Michigan, a record time for the heavyweight division at the NCAA tournament.
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