Jump to content
  • Playwire Ad Area



  • Photo:

    Photo:

    Hipps: A look at wrestlers who had their bubbles burst

    On Wednesday, the 70 at-large selections for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were released weight class-by-weight class every half hour leading up to the seeds and brackets being released at 6 p.m. ET.

    Here is a look at 10 wrestlers -- one per weight class -- who entered Wednesday on the bubble for a berth in the NCAAs and were passed over.

    125: Carson Kuhn (Boise State)

    Kuhn earned the No. 2 seed at the Pac-12 Championships and seemed positioned to earn an automatic spot in the NCAAs. However, the freshman from Utah suffered an injury in his Pac-12 semifinal match against Stanford's Evan Silver and was forced to default out of the tournament. Three Pac-12 125-pounders will be competing in St. Louis, but Kuhn who will not be one of them. He wrestled only 11 matches this season, but had wins over NCAA qualifiers Ares Carpio (Arizona State), Evan Silver (Stanford) and Trey Andrews (Northern Colorado).

    Tyler Keselring
    133: Tyler Keselring (Central Michigan)

    Keselring was a MAC runner-up, living up to his seed, but was passed over for an at-large selection by MAC third-place finisher Mack McGuire (Kent State). The MAC does not have a ranked wrestler at 133 pounds. Keselring needed to win a conference championship to earn an automatic berth to St. Louis ... and he nearly did. He led Missouri's Zach Synon in the championship match before being taken down with about a minute remaining to lose 3-2. The CMU senior finishes the season with a 15-10 record. He had wins this season over NCAA qualifiers Mack McGuire (Kent State), Gary Wayne Harding (Oklahoma State) and Dominick Malone (Northwestern).

    141: Devin Reynolds (Oregon State)

    The freshman Reynolds had a strong Pac-12 tournament performance, going 3-1 and earning a third-place finish. His only loss in the tournament came in the semifinals to No. 7 Geo Martinez of Boise State, 5-3. Reynolds, a two-time Oregon state champion, compiled a 23-9 record this season, but lacked quality wins. He was 0-7 in matches against NCAA qualifiers from this year.

    149: Nick Barber (Eastern Michigan)

    Barber had a solid regular season, but a disappointing performance at the MAC Championships. He went 1-3 in the tournament and placed sixth. Barber dropped his opening match to Ohio's Tywan Claxton and then bounced back to win his second match. However, in his consolation semifinal match he was pinned by Kent State's Michael DePalma, and then lost in tiebreaker, 6-5, to Central Michigan's Colin Heffernan in the fifth-place match. He finishes his season with a 15-13 record. He had wins over four NCAA qualifiers: Daniel Neff (Lock Haven), Mike Racciato (Pitt), Marcus Cain (Duke) and Michael DePalma (Kent State).

    157: Jarrett Jensen (Northern Iowa)

    Jensen, a South Dakota native, opened eyes this season when he defeated returning All-American Ian Miller of Kent State last month. He entered the MAC Championships as the third seed, but had a forgettable performance, which ultimately kept him out of the NCAAs. After losing to Missouri's Joey LaVallee in the MAC semifinals, Jensen lost his next two matches -- both by a point -- to finish sixth. His last loss came to Eastern Michigan's Brandon Zeerip, a wrestler he defeated earlier in the season. Jensen won 21 matches this season, but failed to perform when it mattered most. He had wins over NCAA qualifiers Aaron Walker (The Citadel), Noel Blanco (Drexel), Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan), Spartak Chino (Ohio) and Ian Miller (Kent State).

    Minnesota's Nick Wanzek was ranked in the top 20 for much of the season, but went a disappointing 0-3 at the Big Ten Championships (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)
    165: Nick Wanzek (Minnesota)

    Expectations were high for the Gopher freshman heading into this season after earning three Minnesota state title and finishing with record of 18-4 as a redshirt. Wanzek showed flashes of his potential this season, but battled inconsistency. He pushed by teammate Brandon Kingsley for the spot all season. Wanzek entered the Big Ten Championships as the No. 8 seed in a weight class with eight automatic berths. But Wanzek struggled mightily at the Big Tens, going 0-3. He was hammered by Nebraska's Austin Wilson, 11-2, in his opening match. He then lost in sudden victory, 7-5, to Purdue's Pat Robinson. Wanzek was pinned in his last match by Iowa's Nick Moore. Wanzek finishes the season with a 16-12 record. He had wins over NCAA qualifiers Dakota Friesth (Wyoming), Jesse Stafford (Air Force), Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) and Seth Thomas (Oregon State).

    174: Keaton Subjeck (Stanford)

    Subjeck had a productive regular season, picking up quality wins and taking few unexpected losses. He entered the Pac-12 Championships as the No. 2 seed in a weight class with two automatic qualifiers. But the Stanford freshman struggled at the Pac-12s, dropping his opening match to Boise State's Holden Packard. Subjeck then lost 7-5 to Arizona State's Ray Waters. He dominated CSU Bakersfield's Jesus Ambriz, 10-2, in his fifth-place match, but it wasn't enough to earn him an at-large selection. Subjeck finishes the season with a 19-12 record. He notched two wins this season over Pac-12 champion Joe Latham (Oregon State), and also beat NCAA qualifiers John Staudenmayer (North Carolina), Dominic Kastl (Cal Poly) and Ethan Smith (Utah Valley).

    184: Zach Nevills (Stanford)

    Stanford caught another tough break with Nevills failing to earn an at-large selection at 184 pounds. He placed third at the Pac-12 Championships in a weight class with two automatic berths. One of the wrestlers he was passed over by was Cal Poly's Nick Fiegener, a wrestler he outplaced at the Pac-12 Championships. Nevills did lose to him in their only meeting this season, though. Nevills' most notable win this season came over returning All-American Ophir Bernstein of Brown. He concludes his season with a record of 17-9.

    197: Nick Bonaccorsi (Pitt)

    Bonaccorsi, a two-time NCAA qualifier, started the season strong, winning seven of his first eight matches, which included a victory over Lehigh's Elliot Riddick. His struggles started midseason when he went 1-2 at the Southern Scuffle, and then struggled with consistency down the stretch. He dropped five of his last six matches in the regular season. He then lost his opening match at the ACC Championships to Virginia Tech's Jared Haught. Bonaccorsi, though, came back strong to win his last two matches and place third at the ACCs, beating two wrestlers seeded ahead of him, North Carolina State's Michael Boykin and Haught. Haught received one of the six at-large selections at 197 pounds.

    285: Mike Hughes (Hofstra)

    Hughes, a sophomore, had a nice season, going 21-11 as Hofstra's heavyweight. He earned two victories over Cornell's Jacob Aiken-Phillips during the regular season. However, it was Phillips who won the most important meeting at the EIWA Championships, knocking Hughes of the competition, and ultimately earning an automatic berth to the NCAAs.

    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    There are no comments to display.



    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now

  • Playwire Ad Area
×
×
  • Create New...