Conference tournament weekend kicks off with the EIWA Championships on Friday at Bucknell University. The other six conference tournament this weekend will open on Saturday. Three conference tournaments conclude on Sunday: Big Ten, Big 12 and MAC.
This weekend's action will not only help set the field for the NCAAs, but also have major implications on seeding in St. Louis.
There are many anticipated matchups this weekend. Some will materialize, while others will not. Here are my most anticipated matchups in each conference.
Big Ten: No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 5 Mark Hall (Penn State) at 174
Jordan and Hall will be the top two seeds at 174 pounds, and many are anticipating a finals showdown between the two on Sunday afternoon. Jordan, a two-time All-American, has been hampered by an injury all season. He saw limited action through the first few months of the season, wrestling only seven matches through December. On Jan. 27, Jordan faced Iowa's Alex Meyer -- his first ranked opponent this season -- and came away with a 3-2 win. He followed up that narrow victory with two wins before dropping a close match to Cornell's Brian Realbuto, which dropped him two spots in the rankings to No. 3. Hall, the nation's No. 1 recruit last year, was pulled out of redshirt after winning Southern Scuffle title. He took an early season loss and dropped his first match in the PSU lineup to Iowa's Alex Meyer at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but otherwise has been dominating his competition and seems to be peaking at the right time. Hall, a Cadet and Junior world champion, comes into the Big Ten Championships with a 24-2 record, and has wins over the nation's No. 6, No. 9, No. 11, No. 13 and No. 15 wrestlers.
OSU's Kaid Brock will look to avenge his only loss of the season to SDSU's Seth Gross (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Big 12: No. 2 Seth Gross (South Dakota State) vs. No. 3 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) at 133
Gross and Brock have established themselves as NCAA title contenders at 133 pounds. Both are extremely technical, tactical and can scramble well. Both have just have a single blemish on their records. Gross is 27-1, with his lone coming to Nebraska's Eric Montoya in overtime at the Midlands Championships. Brock enters the Big 12 Championships with a 23-1 mark, with the one loss coming to Gross. In the first meeting between these two on Jan. 22 in Stillwater, Brock came out strong, getting a takedown off a body lock in the first minute of the match. Gross battled back, picking up an escape and takedown off a scramble to lead 3-2 after the first period. Gross rode Brock the entire second period. In the third period, Gross escaped to take a 4-2 lead. Brock, though, would score a takedown with a minute remaining, which made the score 4-4. However, an escape by Gross and riding time point would give the SDSU wrestler the 6-4 victory.
EIWA: No. 4 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) vs. No. 7 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) at 157
Kutler will enter the EIWA Championships as the top seed at 157 pounds, while Palacio is expected to get the No. 4 seed. That will set up a potential semifinal showdown on Saturday morning. Kutler, a redshirt freshman, has wrestled only 14 matches this season, but his body of work has been impressive. He has a 13-1 record, which includes victories over No. 5 Joey LaVallee of Missouri and No. 6 Joe Smith of Oklahoma State. Palacio, a returning All-American, has also seen limited action this season. He was not enrolled at Cornell during the first semester. When Palacio returned to Cornell in January he was competing at 165 pounds. He took an unexpected loss at 165 pounds to Brown's Jonathan Viruet. Palacio moved down to 157 pounds for the NWCA Division I National Duals against Ohio State and picked up a major decision against Anthony DeCarlo.
UNI's Max Thomsen beat Missouri's Lavion Mayes on Feb. 12, but the two have split this season (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)MAC: No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) vs. No. 7 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) at 149
If this matchup happens, it will likely be in the finals on Sunday afternoon. Mayes, a two-time All-American, will enter the tournament as the top seed. The semifinal matchup on the bottom side of the bracket will likely pit Thomsen against Central Michigan's Justin Oliver, a returning All-American. Oliver defeated Thomsen 4-1 on Jan. 15. If a Mayes-Thomsen matchup does materialize on Sunday, it will be the third meeting between the two wrestlers this season. Mayes beat Thomsen 4-2 in the first meeting, which took place at the Southern Scuffle in the semifinals. The two met again on Feb. 12 in Cedar Falls, and Thomsen cruised to a 9-2 victory.
ACC: No. 4 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 5 Jacob Kasper (Duke) at 285
Walz and Kasper are both top five heavyweights with similar records. Walz is 20-2, while Kasper is 26-2. The two met on Jan. 29, and Kasper pulled away in the third period for a convincing -- and stunning -- 12-5 victory. Kasper has since taken a loss to Pitt's Ryan Solomon, a wrestler he will likely see again this weekend in semifinals on Saturday afternoon. If one of the top two seeds -- Walz or Kasper -- wins the ACC title, he could earn a top three seed at the NCAAs in St. Louis, which would more than likely land that wrestler on the opposite side of the bracket of Olympic champion Kyle Snyder of Ohio State.
EWL: No. 11 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) vs. No. 12 Billy Miller (Edinboro) at 285
Haines and Miller will be the top two seeds in the EWL heavyweight bracket, and both are likely to be seeded at the NCAAs in St. Louis. If the seeds hold and the two meet in the finals, it will mark the third meeting between the two wrestlers this season. Haines, a transfer from Ohio State, has won both meetings by the same score, 4-3. The Lock Haven heavyweight enters the tournament with a 29-4 mark, and has lost just twice since Nov. 27. Miller comes into the EWL tournament having won 11 of his last 12 matches.
SoCon: No. 9 Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State) vs. No. 10 Jared Johnson (Chattanooga) at 285
These two SoCon big men know each other very well. Last season they met three times, with Dejournette coming out on top in all three matches, including the finals of the SoCon Championships. Two of those three matches were two-point victories for Dejournette, while the other was a six-point win. This season they have met just once, on Feb. 5, with Dejournette winning 10-4. The Appalachian State heavyweight was recently named SoCon Wrestler of the Year, and comes into the tournament with a record of 23-5. Johnson takes a 23-6 record into the postseason.
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