125 - This is the only weight I don't see a Buckeye potentially wrestling for a medal (sorry). McCrone can beat a lot of the guys in the field, but he would have to beat a lot of guys that are just a little better than him.
133 - Bouzakis could ball out here. He needs a good showing here for confidence, I think. I still think he is well capable of hanging with the top two or three here. I wouldn't pick him over Vito or Fix, though. Not sure we see Cannon here.
141 - This tournament last year was when Hardy turned it on. 8 seed a dominated everybody. Mendez holds a clear advantage on the feet, so if he can avoid the mat he might be okay here.
149 - This weight is so damn deep. I know Lovett is the odds on favorite to win it all this year but I don't know if he makes it through this gauntlet unbeaten.
157 - I don't think we see Teemer here. I also think Paddy could place very highly here. While he is back to focusing on weight management, it is evident he put in some time this offseason. Do I think he beats Robb or Shapiro? No. Do I think he could get a win or two against guys higher ranked than him? Yes.
165 - How much does Hepner's H2H over Amine hold weight here? If folks are smart, they will avoid taking down. I think we end up seeing Carr against Amine in the finals.
174 - Lewis got beat up by Sta(l)rocci. I don't think we see him here. That waters it down quite a bit, but I do like Kharchla to make the finals opposite Griffith. This should be a good tournament for them to get a feel for 174lbs properly, without seeing any of the higher tier gents (aside for themselves)
184 - I want to see more of Hoffman at 184, but my gut is telling me he is right on that level with PK, Foca, Munoz, etc. Depending on seeding he could make a decent, deep run. I am very interested in a Plott match. Both coming in to 184 after being sumstantially different sized rather recently (197lbs for Hoffman VS 79 KG for Plott). I think Foca slides right in and shows that he is here to compete.
197 - Oh lordy-lord... we just saw Brooks beat down Sloan. Will Hidlay manhandle him the same way he manhandled Beard?Cardenas is a sleeper to knock Hidlay off, though. A lot of familiarity there with having seen each other on National Teams. Geog could be in the neighborhood of 7-9 seed there, so he could see one of them early.
285 - Feldman will have a good chance to prove himself against a few gents higher ranked here. I don't think we see Schultzy or Hendrickson there, though. That leaves a slew of other guys to test himself on.
Predictions:
125 - McCrone, DNP
133 - Bouzakis, 4th
141 - Mendez, 1st
149 - D'Emilio, 4th
157 - Gallagher, 5th
165 - Hepner, 4th
174 - Kharchla, 2nd
184 - Hoffman, 2nd/3rd (I have him losing to PK, not sure on seeding here)
197 - Geog, 6th
285 - Feldman, 3rd