Cinderella runs like the ones listed below are moon shots, destined to become nothing more than a forgotten dream, but every year something happens and these are the 10 situations I think are primed for magic in St. Louis.
125: Dylan Peters (UNI)
Peters is a two-time All-American drawn into the bracket without a seed after a shortened season due to injury. The Panther wrestler is a prolific pinner and if healthy is 50/50 in the opening round against No. 4 Darian Cruz Lehigh. From there Peters could see his way past No. 13 Shakur Laney (Ohio), before hitting a buzzsaw in No. 5 Tim Lambert.
If Peters navigates his first three rounds he should be set for a semifinal matchup versus fellow Iowan No. 1 Thomas Gilman of Iowa.
133: No. 10 John Erneste (Missouri)
A lanky redshirt sophomore, Erneste puts up a lot of points on the mat. He'll need those points in the early rounds having to fend off a capable Jeffrey Ott (Harvard) in the first round before facing off with No. 7 Eric Montoya Nebraska and No. 2 Seth Gross (SDSU).
Should Erneste somehow make it to Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State), he'd have to reverse his previous two losses to the Cowboy grappler. Both were by seven or more points.
Ohio State's Luke Pletcher, the No. 12 seed, enters the NCAAs with a 23-7 record (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)141: No. 12 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)
The true freshman has proven to be streaky in his opening season for the Buckeyes. However, with some Tom Ryan magic and the benefit of having seen many of his opponents during the season, Pletcher might be looking at one of the most unlikely runs through the NCAA Championships.
First up for Pletcher is Salvator Profaci (Michigan) followed by No. 5 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) who owns a major decision win over Pletcher.
Should he make his way past Ashnault, Pletcher would face No. 4 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton), who beat him 5-1 earlier in the year, before facing off with Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) in the semifinals.
149: No. 11 Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma)
Jeffries will open with Joey Delgado (Oregon State), who he beat 5-3 in his final dual meet of the season. Then he'll face returning All-American No. 6 Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech), who is coming off a title at the ACC tournament.
Next up would be No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri), who Jeffries lost to 3-1 in sudden victory the last time they met.
Make it that far and he'll see No. 2 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) in the semifinals. Collica beat Jeffries 7-4 at the Big 12 Championships.
157: Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech)
Despite a disappointing season and an upset loss in the finals of the ACC tournament, Sal Mastriani poses a major threat to the 157-pound bracket. A returning All-American, Mastriani is healthy, well-coached and possesses a style well-suited for three tough days of wrestling.
First up is Casey Sparkman (Kent State), who Mastriani should outperform, setting up a rematch with No. 3 Joey Lavallee (Missouri), who earned a major decision over Mastriani early in the season. If the Virginia Tech wrestler can find the upset he'll be set up to face No. 6 Clayton Ream (NDSU) who beat Mastriani 12-6 earlier in the year.
Make it through it all and he'll face a possible semifinal with No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa).
Oklahoma's Yoanse Mejias has a win this season over WVU's Dylan Cottrell165: Yoanse Mejias (Oklahoma)
Do you believe in miracles?
Though Mejias has been up-and-down this season, the young Oklahoma wrestler has all the equipment for an upset or two at the NCAA Championships. He'll start his day with No. 10 Te'Shan Campbell (Pitt) before trying to reverse an early season loss to No. 7 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State).
Getting that far might be doable. A miracle, but doable. However Mejias' next opponents, No. 2 Logan Massa (Michigan) and likely No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) could prove to be too much talent for the middleweight.
174: No. 11 Alex Meyer (Iowa)
A returning All-American with a midseason win over Mark Hall of Penn State, Meyer is primed for another big run at the NCAA tournament. First up is Austin Dewey (Boise State) followed by a beatable No. 6 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh).
The real fun starts in the quarterfinals as Hawkeye fans will see if Meyer can overcome his prior 3-2 loss to No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) before moving on to No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell).
184: No. 12 Drew Foster (UNI)
After competing against the winner of the wrestle-in match, Foster will face No. 5 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech), who didn't perform well at last year's NCAA Championship and is a positive stylistic matchup for the Panther.
Foster will need to stay focused as he takes on No. 4 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State), who beat him earlier in the season. Do all that and he faces the (likely) impossible task of knocking off No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell).
197: Brett Harner (Princeton)
The returning All-American hasn't had a great season in 2016-2017, but he knows how to win at the big dance and has previously faced his first two competitors.
Harner will start his journey back to the podium with No. 7 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), who only narrowly defeated Harner 2-1 early in the season. From there he'll face No. 10 Kevin Beazley (ODU), who bested him 5-2 earlier in the season, before facing titan No. 2 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota). Get that deep into the tournament and Harner will face Big Ten champion and No. 3 seed Kollin Moore (Ohio State).
Lock Haven's Thomas Haines gets his hand raised after a victory (Photo/Tim Barnhart)285: No. 14 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven)
Recruited out of high school as one of the best wrestlers in the country, Haines has finally settled into his rhythm at Lock Haven.
Haines' first-round matchup is against Youssif Hemida (Maryland), who he beat earlier in the season. The sophomore then faces an uphill battle against No. 3 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), who teched him earlier in the season.
Win that rematch and he'll face No. 6 Austin Schafer (Oklahoma State) and then No. 2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) in the semifinals.
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