What We've Learned: 133 Pounds
What We've Learned: 133 Pounds
What we've learned so far at 133 pounds in NCAA Division I wrestling.
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Compared with the 125-pound weight class, 133's changes are a little more subtle. Even still, we find ourselves with a new No. 1-ranked wrestler, and a few preseason top 10s have fallen out.
Here is the preseason/current rankings breakdown:
NATO stands alone as the only undefeated in the field. Earl Hall has had among the biggest drops, from starting at fifth to now back at 12th. Jered Cortez is now out of the rankings completely due to injury. Jaydin Eierman tried his hand at 133 but couldn't make it consistently and moved up to 141.
Kaid Brock has seen a substantial jump from No. 7 to No. 2, but the biggest mover is Lehigh's Scotty Parker, who jumped 11 spots from 20th to No. 9.
Here were my predictions from the fall coming into this year.
CP's Preseason Predictions:
1. Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State
2. Cory Clark, Iowa
3. Zane Richards, Illinois
4. Jaydin Eierman, Missouri
5. Stevan Micic, Michigan
6. Kaid Brock, Ok State
7. Eric Montoya, Nebraska
8. Jered Cortez, Penn State
Round of 12: Earl Hall, Iowa State; Seth Gross, South Dakota State; Dom Forys, Pitt; Ali Naser, Arizona State
So what has changed in my perception of 133? Not a ton. There has been a little shifting of the order but not much.
In the preseason, I said NATO would be the undefeated NCAA champion, and I still feel that way. Obviously, I don't think Eierman places fourth, since he's not competing at 133. The way he was trending at this weight, that wasn't happening regardless. So that was just a whiff in general. Brock could probably be higher, but honestly, it's pretty reasonable that he'd finish behind those guys still. Seth Gross doesn't look like a round of 12 guy to me, so I'd definitely change that as well. I hedged a bit with Gross in the preseason, because I was skeptical about him making the weight consistently. That was wrong.
CP's Updated Predictions:
1. Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State
2. Cory Clark, Iowa
3. Kaid Brock, Ok State
4. Zane Richards, Illinois
5. Seth Gross, SDSU
6. Eric Montoya, Nebraska
7. Stevan Micic, Michigan
8. Scotty Parker, Lehigh
Round of 12: Connor Schram, Stanford; Earl Hall, ISU; Josh Alber, UNI; Mitch McKee, Minnesota
Sorting Nos. 2-7 has been difficult for both rankings and predictions as well. I have the same top seven with the exception of Gross swapped with Eierman, but the order is slightly different.
Stevan Micic versus Mitch McKee was awesome:
Compared with the 125-pound weight class, 133's changes are a little more subtle. Even still, we find ourselves with a new No. 1-ranked wrestler, and a few preseason top 10s have fallen out.
Here is the preseason/current rankings breakdown:
Preseason Rank | Grade | Name | School | Current Rank | Grade | Name | School |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | SR | Cory Clark | Iowa | 1 | JR | Nathan Tomasello | Ohio State |
2 | JR | Nathan Tomasello | Ohio State | 2 | FR | Kaid Brock | OK State |
3 | SR | Zane Richards | Illinois | 3 | SR | Cory Clark | Iowa |
4 | SR | Eric Montoya | Nebraska | 4 | SR | Eric Montoya | Nebraska |
5 | SR | Earl Hall | Iowa State | 5 | SO | Seth Gross | SD State |
6 | SO | Seth Gross | SD State | 6 | SR | Zane Richards | Illinois |
7 | SO | Kaid Brock | OK State | 7 | FR | Stevan Micic | Michigan |
8 | FR | Stevan Micic | Michigan | 8 | JR | Dom Forys | Pittsburgh |
9 | SO | Jered Cortez | Penn State | 9 | SO | Scott Parker | Lehigh |
10 | JR | Dom Forys | Pittsburgh | 10 | JR | Connor Schram | Stanford |
11 | JR | Scott Delvecchio | Rutgers | 11 | SO | Josh Alber | UNI |
12 | SO | Cameron Kelly | Ohio | 12 | SR | Earl Hall | Iowa State |
13 | FR | Jaydin Eierman | Missouri | 13 | SR | Kevin Devoy | Drexel |
14 | SR | Joey Palmer | Oregon State | 14 | SO | Jamal Morris | NC State |
15 | SO | Jamal Morris | NC State | 15 | SO | Cameron Kelly | Ohio |
16 | SO | Josh Alber | Northern Iowa | 16 | SO | John Erneste | Missouri |
17 | SO | Austin Eicher | Michigan State | 17 | FR | Mitch McKee | Minnesota |
18 | SR | Corey Keener | Central Michigan | 18 | FR | Eli Stickley | Wisconsin |
19 | JR | Zach Davis | Navy | 19 | SO | Bryan Lantry | Buffalo |
20 | SO | Scott Parker | Lehigh | 20 | SO | Austin Eicher | Michigan State |
NATO stands alone as the only undefeated in the field. Earl Hall has had among the biggest drops, from starting at fifth to now back at 12th. Jered Cortez is now out of the rankings completely due to injury. Jaydin Eierman tried his hand at 133 but couldn't make it consistently and moved up to 141.
Kaid Brock has seen a substantial jump from No. 7 to No. 2, but the biggest mover is Lehigh's Scotty Parker, who jumped 11 spots from 20th to No. 9.
Here were my predictions from the fall coming into this year.
CP's Preseason Predictions:
1. Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State
2. Cory Clark, Iowa
3. Zane Richards, Illinois
4. Jaydin Eierman, Missouri
5. Stevan Micic, Michigan
6. Kaid Brock, Ok State
7. Eric Montoya, Nebraska
8. Jered Cortez, Penn State
Round of 12: Earl Hall, Iowa State; Seth Gross, South Dakota State; Dom Forys, Pitt; Ali Naser, Arizona State
So what has changed in my perception of 133? Not a ton. There has been a little shifting of the order but not much.
In the preseason, I said NATO would be the undefeated NCAA champion, and I still feel that way. Obviously, I don't think Eierman places fourth, since he's not competing at 133. The way he was trending at this weight, that wasn't happening regardless. So that was just a whiff in general. Brock could probably be higher, but honestly, it's pretty reasonable that he'd finish behind those guys still. Seth Gross doesn't look like a round of 12 guy to me, so I'd definitely change that as well. I hedged a bit with Gross in the preseason, because I was skeptical about him making the weight consistently. That was wrong.
CP's Updated Predictions:
1. Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State
2. Cory Clark, Iowa
3. Kaid Brock, Ok State
4. Zane Richards, Illinois
5. Seth Gross, SDSU
6. Eric Montoya, Nebraska
7. Stevan Micic, Michigan
8. Scotty Parker, Lehigh
Round of 12: Connor Schram, Stanford; Earl Hall, ISU; Josh Alber, UNI; Mitch McKee, Minnesota
Sorting Nos. 2-7 has been difficult for both rankings and predictions as well. I have the same top seven with the exception of Gross swapped with Eierman, but the order is slightly different.
Stevan Micic versus Mitch McKee was awesome: