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.

Jan 25, 2017 by Christian Pyles
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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:

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: