2018-19 Redshirt Report: 141 Pounds
2018-19 Redshirt Report: 141 Pounds
Going over the 141 pounders who didn't start last year but are looking to make noise in the 2018-19 season.
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Are you wearing your best red colored shirt right now? If not, that's OK, but we'll still be pressing on with Redshirt Report season!
For the fourth year in a row, FloWrestling will be doing a weight-by-weight breakdown of the best guys who did not wrestle last season. The word "redshirt" is being used as a catch-all term for pretty much every good non-starter from a year ago. This includes actual redshirts, injuries, and a few who just couldn't crack the starting lineup.
Previous Redshirt Reports
Some weights will have more names and more name cache than others, because not every weight is created equal. The list of guys coming in at 141 is a little light, which in part is because that weight still has a lot of young talent in it.
Keep your eyes peeled for more NCAA content this summer in the leadup to what promises to be an excellent 2018-19 season. On to a solid group of 141lb redshirts, almost all of whom are in battles for the starting spot on their teams.
Kaden Gfeller, Oklahoma State
There’s no guarantee Gfeller starts this year, but he will probably be the best backup in the country at either 141 or 149 if that’s the case. For years, Gfeller had an outstanding resume but didn’t have a title at a national-caliber tournament. That changed with the Southern Scuffle, when he won a controversial one with Luke Karam of Lehigh and then pinned Nick Lee of Penn State in the finals. His only losses were to Dean Heil and Kevin Jack (who are both gone), and twice to Jaydin Eierman, so he has an All-American like trajectory.
Max Murin, Iowa
Like Gfeller, Murin will be in a dogfight to start this year, though he should be favored over Vince Turk and Carter Happel. The heavy-handed Murin was considered a good recruit coming out of high school, but not quite as highly regarded as Gfeller; the final 2017 Big Board had Gfeller 15th and Murin as the 44th best prospect. If Murin and Austin DeSanto start for the Hawkeyes, then the first three weights and half the lineup for the Black and Gold will be wrestlers from Pennsylvania. A Murin/Gfeller match the second weekend in January would make for an excellent battle.
Yahya Thomas, Northwestern
A bit more under the radar than Murin or Gfeller coming out of high school, Thomas has slowly started showing signs of promise. It took until his junior year to place in Illinois, getting third as a junior 126 and third again as a senior 145 before heading to Evanston. Thomas wrestled the other top two redshirts over the past few months with Murin beating Thomas 4-3 at Midlands, and Thomas beating Gfeller 15-5 at the Junior World Team Trials. Of his six losses, only one came to a non-qualifier, and he had five wins over previous NCAA qualifiers.
Check out his National Collegiate Open title below.
Jamel Morris, NC State
File this one under "non-traditional" redshirt report guy. He appeared in just four duals last year, fewer than the six he wrestled in the 2015-16 season. Morris will either be a depth guy if Tariq Wilson moves up, or the full-time starter in his final year of eligibility. He was 133 for all of last season with the exception of the UNC Pembroke and Pitt duals, and won the Wolfpack, Appalachian, and National Collegiate Opens.
Alec Hagan, Ohio
The Bobcats have a logjam at 141 and 149 featuring a pair of brothers, the Guillens and the Hagans. Three of the four of them redshirted, and the bigger Hagan had the best year. He went 17-3 with four pins and two techs against DI competition. His three losses were to the above mentioned Courtney, and NCAA qualifiers Tyler Smith and Irving Enriquez. He only wrestled two other qualifiers in Brent Moore and Tejon Anthony, but beat both of them. Hagan may move up to 149 this season though after spending all of last year at 141.