Spencer Lee, Nick Suriano, & Bo Nickal: 5 NCAA Matches We Want Next Year
Spencer Lee, Nick Suriano, & Bo Nickal: 5 NCAA Matches We Want Next Year
Seth Gross and Bryce Meredith gave us a rare #1 vs. #1 match last year. But now, who's the next pair to meet in a super match?
Prior to the NCAA tournament, the match between Seth Gross and Bryce Meredith was arguably the best match of the year.
The super match in Brookings sparked a lot of attention as well as a great deal of praise, which included Jordan Burroughs, who was inspired to make the bout with Frank Chamizo happen at Beat the Streets. While Meredith and Gross gave us some wrestling history with their rare #1 vs #1 match, we now look at next NCAA season with an anxious eye of potential thinking...
...Who’s next?
Here are some Gross vs Meredith-inspired bouts we would like to see next year.
1. Daton Fix vs Spencer Lee
We know that the returning champ will be back looking for another title at 125. But right now we are unsure whether Fix will be in the lineup at 125 or 133 for the Cowboys. Nonetheless, this is a match that we have wanted to see for quite some time. The last time they met was in 2015 in the Cadet World Team Trials best-of-three finals and it was won by Fix. Since then it’s just been looming.
2. Daton Fix vs Nick Suriano
Like I said above, we are still unsure what weight Fix will wrestle. Suriano could be making the move to 133; right now that is still a bit of a question mark as well. Either way, they will be within striking distance of one another. Last time they met was in 2014 at Who’s #1 in a match that no one will ever forget.
Not going anywhere for a while? Watch the longest match in high school history:
3. Bo Nickal vs Zahid Valencia
Is Zahid moving up and looking to dethrone two-time champ Bo Nickal? It’s possible. That is if Nickal stays put at 184. Right now where they both slot in their respective lineups is yet to be determined. But no matter what we want to see them clash again. Zahid defeated Bo in the Junior World Team Trials finals in 2016 and they haven’t wrestled since.
Watch Bo vs Zahid from 2016:
4. Yianni Diakomihalis vs Seth Gross
This would be the trickiest bout of'em all. Gross has a wild defense where he is comfortable with a guy being on his legs. Comparatively, no one sits the corner like Yianni D. The defense would be masterful, the attacks would be a thing of creative beauty, and it would holistically be one of those history-making matches you’d watch over and over again.
5. Austin DeSanto vs Nick Suriano
OK, I get it, Suriano is the returning NCAA runner-up and DeSanto was just a qualifier with a lot of expectation that he didn’t live up to. But before you start throwing rotten tomatoes at this one, hear me out. Both guys bring a good deal of action to the mat. While Suriano has the controlled style, DeSanto, well, he’s more of organized chaos, or at times just chaos. But it’s the perfect type of messiness. Don’t lie to yourself, if this went down you’d be glued to every second of it.