2018-19 Redshirt Report: 149 Pounds
2018-19 Redshirt Report: 149 Pounds
The 149 pound redshirt report takes an in depth look at some of the best guys who did not start last 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. There is a good crop of guys from the high school class of 2017 coming off redshirt, as well as some guys who had success last year while competing unattached, not to mention a few roster battles.
Keep your eyes peeled for more NCAA content this summer in the leadup to what promises to be an excellent 2018-19 season. Without further ado, the 149lb redshirt report of guys to pay attention to this year.
Anthony Ashnault, Rutgers
The three-time All-American received a sixth year of eligibility after missing all of last season due to injury. The medical redshirt gives the Scarlet Knights two national title contenders and certainly helps their chances of being a Top-10 team this year, right as they are constructing a new wrestling complex. Although Shnaulty has been a 141 for his entire college career, he is 100% going 49 this year, a weight that gets far more interesting with the exodus of Zain Retherford and Brandon Sorensen. Hopefully we get a fully healthy year of Ashnault battles with the likes of Micah Jordan and Matt Kolodzik.
Pat Lugo, Iowa
With all the action going on in Iowa City this summer, you might have forgotten that the Hawkeyes picked up a 149 last summer. Lugo came out of Florida as the #74 recruit in the Class of 2015, and started right away for Edinboro. He made the Round of 12 as a true freshman, and then was the eight seed his sophomore year. Though he didn’t place either of his first two seasons, he made the CKLV finals and got fourth at the Southern Scuffle as a sophomore, and then pinned Kolodzik en route to a fourth place finish at Midlands last year.
This summer, he finished fifth at U23 Trials, with wins over Jaden Enriquez, Steve Bleise, Evan Cheek, Kolodzik, and split matches with Alfred Bannister. At last year’s Junior WTT, he beat three other guys on this list in Austin O’Connor, Brady Berge, and Collin Purinton. It won’t be easy replacing four-time AA Brandon Sorensen, but Lugo has shown flashes of brilliance and has two years of eligibility remaining.
Josh Maruca, Arizona State
The rising junior was part of one of the most intriguing roster battles from last season, ultimately ceding his spot to Jason Tsirtsis, who would go to place in his final NCAA appearance. A 2017 national qualifier himself, Maruca could be Top-10 to start the season and be in the mix to place at the end of the year.
The lanky Maruca will be in a battle with Christian Pagdilao for the starting spot this year, and both have some adjustments to make before they can be considered strong likelihoods to finish on the podium. For Maruca, that might mean balancing out his leg attacks and more equally attacking his opponent's right leg. Hopefully we'll see them both in action at some early opens, as both are starter and qualifier level guys coming off years in which they didn't start, but only one will get the nod for Pac-12s.
Austin O’Connor, North Carolina
All the kid does is win. O’Connor has never necessarily been flashy or a household name, but has a very strong resume. His redshirt season started off with a bang, beating Troy Heilmann 9-4 in the wrestle-off; Heilmann would go on to get 4th at NCAAs. He went 20-3 last year, with just one odd loss to Gavin Londoff of App State, and then won the Junior Open at 70kg before eventually falling in the Trials finals. O'Connor's greatest quality is incredibly cliche, but also invaluable in collegiate folkstyle: being hard nosed. He bounced back from a loss in pool play to win the gold medal at the Junior Pan Am championships.
Brady Berge, Penn State
If you listen to FRL, you’re aware that I am skeptical Berge can make 149 consistently this year for the Nittany Lions. He hasn’t made a weight below 150 since Fargo 2014, but he is slotted to be PSU’s replacement for Zain Retherford while Jason Nolf finishes out his career at 157. The Junior world teamer only wrestled in one tournament last year, and he was up at 157. It was the Princeton Open, where he took a loss to two-time qualifier Mike D’Angelo. If Berge isn't the starter at 149, it will be Jarod Verkleeren, who is also coming off redshirt. If weight isn't an issue, the 149lb field will quickly find itself in trouble dealing with the Minnesota native's timely and efficient offensive output. He beat O'Connor in a three-match series to become our 70kg representative at Junior Worlds in Slovakia.
Josh Heil, Campbell
Although he was a Southern Scuffle finalist, Heil wrestled unattached all of last season after making the big dance in 2017. Campbell has taken control of the Southern Conference and Heil could become a leader for the Camels as he tries to emulate Nathan Kraisser and his brother Dean, now the director of operations in Buies Creek. Heil picked up a pin over the above mentioned Maruca at U23s in June.
Tanner Smith, UT-Chattanooga
As a member of the media, I don't actively root for anyone. But given the raw deal Smith and the rest of the Eastern Michigan team got this spring, wouldn't it be nice to see him come in right away and have some success for new head coach Kyle Ruschell? Smith went undefeated during his redshirt season at EMU, and while his strength of schedule wasn't overwhelming, he did pick up wins over 2017 national qualifiers Jamal Morris and Matt Zovistoski. He picked up steam by the end of the year, getting all his bonus wins over other D1 guys at the Edinboro Open in February.
Some other 149lb "redshirts" to look out for this year include but are not limited to:
- Jarod Verkleeren, Penn State
- Christian Pagdilao, Arizona State
- Requir van der Merwe, Stanford
- Collin Purinton, Nebraska
- Parker Kropman, Binghamton
- Matt Zovistoski, App State