Can't-Miss Early Round Conference Tournament Matches
Can't-Miss Early Round Conference Tournament Matches
The best early-round matches across every 2023 Division 1 conference wrestling tournament.
It’s Conference Tournament Weekend time! The nation’s best NCAA Division 1 wrestlers will take the mat on March 4-5 at their respective conference championships with the quest of qualifying for the NCAA tournament. As wrestling fans know, some weights are deeper than others with All-Americans and contenders meeting in the early rounds. Because of that, we highlighted the best early-round matches across every conference tournament in the below article.
Big Ten - Saturday, March 4
157 - Round of 16 - #12 Will Lewan vs #17 Brayton Lee winner gets #7 Kendall Coleman
Will Lewan and Brayton Lee are both past All-Americans but will meet in the very first round of the Big Ten Championships! They’ve wrestled two times in their college careers with Brayton Lee winning both times - 5-4 in 2022 and 8-3 in 2021. Both have had up-and-down years this season but this match will not only be crucial to qualifying for the NCAA tournament but could give them a huge boost in seeding at the NCAA Tournament.
Kendall Coleman's win over Will Lewan at the 2022 CKLV:
157 - Round of 16 - #9 Mike Carr vs #21 Derek Gilcher winner gets #8 Levi Haines
157 might be the weight most “up for grabs” weight at Big 10s so it’s no surprise there are 2 early “can’t miss” matches. Mike Carr has only wrestled 4 matches this season but his win over #11 Cobe Siebrecht proves he’s a legit All-American contender. Derek Gilcher is 22-10 on the year with a number of ranked wins including an 8-2 decision over #10 Chase Saldate. Either Gilcher or Carr will be a big challenge for #2 seed Levi Haines in the quarters.
197 - Round of 16 - #16 Braxton Amos vs #17 Michial Foy winner gets #3 Max Dean
Braxton Amos and Michial Foy are both All-American contenders and might be the toughest #8 and #9 seeds in any conference. They wrestled just 3 weeks ago with Amos winning a tight, 2-1 decision. Though he lost to Amos, Foy’s season is highlighted by his 2-1 win over three-time All-American #12 Jacob Warner.
*Special note - because the Big 10 is so loaded, we're going to keep the best early matches to the round of 16 otherwise we'd be highlighting almost every quarter-final match!
EIWA - Saturday, March 4
141 - Quarter-Final - #21 Malyke Hines vs #23 Matt Kazimir winner gets #11 Vince Cornella
Both Malyke Hines and Matt Kazimir have had their moments this year where they appear to be legitimate All-American contenders. Hines’ best wins on the season are over #11 Vince Cornella, #15 Jesse Vasquez, #24 Josh Koderhandt, and Carmen Ferrante. Kazimir has a head-to-head win over Hines on the year and also defeated #13 Carter Young. Whoever wins this bout will automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament and be a big threat to taking out #1 seed Vince Cornella in the semis.
174 - Quarter-Final - HM Lennox Wolak vs #17 Mikey O'Malley winner gets #4 Chris Foca
Few knew the name Lennox Wolak before November 18, 2022. However, that was the day Wolak came on the radar of every 174-pound wrestler in the country when he defeated All-American Ethan Smith, 8-6. Wolak’s quarter-final opponent, Mickey O’Malley, was a known contender coming into the year as a round of 12 finisher in 2022. With only 4 automatically qualifying spots available at 174 in the EIWA, the winner of this match will be in a great spot to reach the Big Show.
Big 12 - Saturday, March 4
141- Quarter-Final - #13 Carter Young vs #12 Clay Carlson winner gets #1 Andrew Alirez
141 is loaded at the Big 12 tournament with 10 wrestlers ranked in the top 33 and 6 ranked in the top 13. With so many All-American contenders, separated by so little, we’re sure to see some incredible matches with upsets throughout the bracket. Clay Carlson is undefeated in his college career against Carter Young with two wins over the Cowboy. However, Carter Young ended his season with ranked wins over HM Jordan Titus, #8 Cael Happel, HM Casey Swiderski, #16 Allan Hart, and #7 Mosha Schwartz. The winner of this match will automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament and have a shot at #1 Alirez in the semis.
Carlson's win over Carter Young from earlier this year:
141- Quarter-Final - #8 Cael Happel vs #16 Allan Hart winner gets winner of #7 Mosha Schwartz vs #24 Dylan Droegemueller
Again, these two quarter-final matchups show the depth of 141 in the Big 12. Schwartz has been the best of this bunch with wins over the other 3 wrestlers. However, Dylan Droegemueller has the best win of any of these four - a 10-4 decision over #6 Brock Hardy. Hart pinned Droegemuller in just 26 seconds while Happel has wins over both Hart and Droegemueller this season. All of that to say - any one of these 4 wrestlers could reach the finals at 141 and it should be incredibly fun to watch this bracket unfold.
149 - Quarter-Final - #24 Victor Voinovich vs #17 Kellyn March winner gets #6 Brock Mauller
With 7 automatic qualifying spots on the line at 149 in the Big 12, the winner of the match between Voinovich and March will earn a spot at NCAAs in Tulsa. The two met in the finals of the Southern Scuffle with March winning a wild over-time match, 5-3. With the stakes even higher this time, should expect another exciting match in their quarter-final bout at Big 12s.
March's win over Voinovich in the 2023 Southern Scuffle finals:
165 - Quarter-Final - #7 Michael Caliendo vs #19 Wyatt Sheets winner gets #2 Keegan O’Toole
Michael Caliendo is having as good of a season as any freshman in the country. Up to this point, Caliendo has amassed a 20-2 record highlighted by a win over 2021 NCAA Champion Shane Griffith. However, as a 7th-year senior and past All-American, Wyatt Sheets should not be underestimated in this matchup. As the 33 seed in 2021, Sheets proved he can “turn it on” when it matters most.
ACC - Sunday, March 5
141 - Quarter-Final - #10 Tom Crook vs Dylan Cedeno winner gets #4 Cole Matthews
Tom Crook has put together an incredible true freshman year with a number of ranked wins in a chaotic 141-pound weight class. Early in the season, Crook showed just how dangerous he was when he defeated Dylan Cedeno to win the Southeast Open. Despite the loss, Cedeno is a returning National Qualifier and will be looking to pull the upset in order to qualify for the NCAA tournament once again.
Crook's win over Cedeno from the 2022 Southeast Open finals:
184 - Quarter-Final - #16 Reece Heller vs #18 Neil Antrassian Winner gets #3 Trent Hidlay
Neil Antrassian defeated Reece Heller in January, 8-3 in Virginia’s dual against Pitt. However, Heller would go on to pull off an incredible upset the following week with a pin over All-American Hunter Bolen. Heller also wrestled Trent Hidlay to a tough, 9-5 decision loss in their regular season match. While either of these wrestlers will be underdogs against Hidlay, both have proven to be All-American contenders this year and should put on a show in Raleigh.
*The above is just a sampling of some of the best matches taking place in the early rounds of conference tournament weekend. If you think I missed any, let me know by sending me an email and jonathan.kozak@flosports.tv or shoot me a dm on twitter @KozakJon. Also, don't forget to join the Flo crew on the watch party for the best second-screen experience as we breakdown the best action from every conference!