We're closing out 2017 with a bang, bringing you live coverage of the 55th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, IL, on Dec. 29-30. The event begins at 9:30 AM Central time for your viewing pleasure.

Today we'll be going into our preview and predictions for the middleweights at 149, 157, 165, and 174 pounds. Interestingly, each of those weights returns last year's champ.

Remember, we do not yet have pre-seeds, so the top four placements are based on our best guess. However, we do have the "top contenders" for each weight, listed along with their rank, school, and grade.

We're splitting the weight class previews into threes, so let's get this one started with one of the most consistent performers in recent Midlands history.

Lightweight Preview + Predictions

149 Pounds

Top Contenders

#2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), SR

#3 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan), JR

#7 Matt Kolodzik (Princeton), SO

#13 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), FR

#14 Josh Maruca (Arizona State), SO

#17 Eleazar DeLuca (Rutgers), SR

Jason Tsirtsis (Arizona State), SR

Tanner Smith (Eastern Michigan), FR

Peter Pappas (Edinboro), FR

Brandon Wright (Unattached), PG

Some questions to be answered in about a weeks' time:

• Will @bj_sorensen win his 3rd-straight championship?
• Will @JasonTsirtsis place for the 6th time?
• Will @RyanDeakinn defend his home territory?

HIGH DRAMA. #B1GCats pic.twitter.com/3kiTrtJAni

— The Midlands (@MidlandsChamps) December 23, 2017

Commentary: Brandon Sorensen has an excellent track record at Midlands, finishing third twice and winning the event each of the past two years. He's been the second best guy in the country for just about two years and doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. That consistency has been a huge part of Iowa's recent dominance of this tournament.

Justin Oliver looked fantastic at the CKLV, and the 2016 All-American seems to have a chip on his shoulder this year. He should once again be the two seed, and threw up 24 team points last year, the most of any runner-up. I look forward to his semi with Matt Kolodzik, whom Oliver has never wrestled.

Kolodzik is coming off a loss to Ke-Shawn Hayes, the only ranked guy he has wrestled thus far (minus Max Thomsen at the All-Star). The lack of tests makes it hard to pick him, especially coming up a weight, though he did have three major tests en route to last year's finals: Luke Pletcher, Chad Red, and Kevin Jack.

But this weight is more than just three deep, adding in junior world silver medalist and returning third-placer Ryan Deakin, another stud freshman in Zander Wick, and Rutgers senior Eleazar De Luca. Then we also have the wrinkle of a battle for a starting spot between Josh Maruca and past NCAA champ Jason Tsirtsis.

It's very easy to see this weight going chalk approximately with the seeding.

Nomad's Picks: 1) Brandon Sorensen  2) Justin Oliver  3) Ryan Deakin  4) Matt Kolodzik

Spey's Picks: 1) Brandon Sorensen  2) Jason Tsirtsis  3) Ryan Deakin  4) Justin Oliver

Seven Best Matches From The Midlands Archives

157 Pounds

Top Contenders

#2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), SO:

#7 Josh Shields (Arizona State), SO: 

#11 Luke Zilverberg (South Dakota State), SR:

#15 Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan), SR

#20 Larry Early (Old Dominion), SO:

Justin Staudenmayer (Brown), SR:

Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois), SR:

Mike D'Angelo (Princeton), JR:

Zachary Moore (West Virginia), SO:

Andrew Crone (Wisconsin), SR: 

Michael Kemerer is the reigning champ.

Will he be dethroned? ?‍♂️#Midlands55 pic.twitter.com/kXvYwWGkJ4

— The Midlands (@MidlandsChamps) December 23, 2017

Commentary: I'm thoroughly excited for 157. Michael Kemerer transitions so smoothly from his feet to finish takedowns from neutral. One thing I'll be paying attention to, and may even try to average out across all his matches at the tournament, is the conversion time from the start of his shot to a takedown. It will be a huge part of his attempt to repeat.

As a senior at Franklin Regional High School, Kemerer was the undefeated 145lb Pennsylvania state champ. Up two weight classes at 160 was teammate Josh Shields, who will likely be the finals opponent in the way of Kemerer's second straight Midlands title. Shields has wrestled perhaps the nation's toughest schedule and has thus far suffered only one loss.

Zilverberg seems to be doing just fine down a weight from last year, and Larry Early is ranked in his first full year at Old Dominion after transferring from Minnesota. Those two seem like safer bets to place than Colin Heffernan, who hasn't wrestled since suffering an injury at CKLV. If fully healthy, the Central Michigan wrestler could have an excellent tournament.

This weight is very similar to most of this year's field: It's top heavy in the 3-5 range, with a handful of unranked guys who can produce upsets and will end up placing because there aren't eight ranked guys in the weight, not to mention great redshirts like Brady Berge. But the final is a critical part of the team race.

Nomad's Picks: 1) Michael Kemerer  2) Josh Shields  3) Luke Zilverberg  4) Larry Early

Spey's Picks: 1) Michael Kemerer  2) Josh Sheilds  3) Colin Heffernan  4) Justin Staudenmayer

WATCH MIDLANDS LIVE ON FLO

165 Pounds

Top Contenders

#2 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), SR:

#12 Alex Marinelli (Iowa), FR:

#13 Richie Lewis (Rutgers), SR:

#15 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State), SO:

Austin Matthews (Edinboro), SR:

Bryce Martin (Indiana), JR:

Austin Reese (Ohio), JR:

May Bethea (Penn), SR:

Jon Schleifer (Princeton), SR:

Will @Imar165 become the 44th three-time champion of the Midlands? Only time will tell ⏱#Midlands55 pic.twitter.com/u6iTPuqiQM

— The Midlands (@MidlandsChamps) December 23, 2017

Commentary: This is your final shot to watch IMar at Midlands, which is perhaps where he had his coming-out party in college. The skinny 157-pounder put up 64 points, plus an injury default, and began being recognized as more than just a good freshman.

Alex Marinelli and Richie Lewis is a rematch I would love to see and could very well determine if Lewis stays up or not. Marinelli was fourth at Midlands last year, getting pinned by Anthony Valencia in the third-place match. Rutgers will be pesky throughout all of Midlands as they push for the team title, and this is the one weight where RU, Arizona State, and Iowa all have wrestlers who should be seeded to place.

Nomad's Picks: 1) Isaiah Martinez 2) Anthony Valencia 3) Alex Marinelli 4) Richie Lewis

Spey's Picks: 1) Isaiah Martinez  2) Richie Lewis  3) Alex Marinelli  4) Anthony Valencia

What Do Midlands Mean For NCAAs?

174 pounds

Top Contenders

#1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State), SO

#9 David Kocer (South Dakota State), SR

#14 CJ Brucki (Central Michigan), SR

#15 Dylan Lydy (Purdue), SO

#20 Seldon Wright (Old Dominion), JR

Josef Johnson (Harvard)

Devin Skatzka (Indiana)

Joey Gunther (Iowa)

Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), FR:

Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern)

Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin)

Is anyone going to top the reigning champ and No. 1-ranked Zahid Valencia next week? #Midlands55 pic.twitter.com/fNQyi09feF

— The Midlands (@MidlandsChamps) December 24, 2017

Commentary: There are two wrestlers ranked at the top of their weight classes at this year's Midlands, Seth Gross at 133 and Zahid Valencia at 174. There appears to be no serious challengers to Valencia winning his second straight Midlands title, so we may see the junior world silver medalist work on other techniques beyond his swing single.

David Kocer is looking to close out his career the same way as his older brother, Alex, with an All-American finish. On the road to that, Kocer would like to make up for last year's Midlands, when he was seeded fifth but did not place. Kocer is typically good for a big upset every now and then, but he'll be the favorite in nearly every match he wrestles.

I included Dylan Lydy of Purdue in my article about guys who could crash the rankings in the second half of the season. It wouldn't surprise me if Lydy duplicated his CKLV win over CJ Brucki, just this time for third place.

Nomad's Picks: 1) Zahid Valencia 2) Mikey Labriola 3) David Kocer 4) Dylan Lydy

Spey's Picks: 1) Zahid Valencia  2) David Kocer  3) CJ Brucki  4) Josef Johnson

WATCH MIDLANDS LIVE ON FLO