What do we know of the 2019-20 NCAA D1 197-pound weight class? Our means of receiving impressions are absurdly few, and our notions of surrounding objects infinitely narrow. We see things only as we are constructed to see them, and can gain no idea of their absolute nature. With five feeble senses we pretend to comprehend the boundlessly complex cosmos, yet other beings with wider, stronger, or different range of senses might not only see very differently the things we see, but might see and study whole worlds of matter, energy, and life which lie close at hand yet can never be detected with the senses we have.

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Bo Nickal's single-season at 197 was one of the most dominant seasons at any weight in recent NCAA memory. The wire-to-wire #1 and NCAA champ has graduated, meaning there will be a new champion of 197 pounds. Other All-Americans who are out of eligibility include Preston Weigel (third), Willie Miklus (sixth), and Ben Honis (eighth). 

Who steps up to fill those podium steps? Our penultimate preseason preview is below, presented as best as our five feeble senses will allow. 

Contenders

#1 Kollin Moore, Ohio State

#2 Pat Brucki, Princeton

#3 Kyle Conel, Penn State

The leading contender to win a national title, commonly referred to as the "favorite" among sporting communities, is also the only 197-pounder to make it on to the official preseason Hodge Rankings. Moore has the size and speed to take command of the weight class after three top-four finishes in his first three cracks at the NCAA Championships. 

Brucki had a breakout season last year and has a good chance of becoming Princeton's first finalist since Greg Parker in 2002 at 174 pounds.

Watch Brucki win an EIWA title over fellow AA Ben Honis of Cornell:

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The big question mark for the weight class, and perhaps the NCAA season, is what version of Kyle Conel will we see in 2020? Conel only wrestled two matches last season after his Cinderella third-place finish in 2018 (watch the FloFilm: The Highs and Lows of Kyle Conel), before pulling the plug on the season due to injuries. He then made a graduate transfer move to Happy Valley and will be in a Penn State singlet the next time he steps on the mat. Exactly when that will be is unknown, but if he's operating at the same level as he was beating Kollin Moore twice at the 2018 NCAAs in Cleveland, he will clearly be a contender to win the whole thing. 

Other Contenders

#4 Jacob Holschlag, Northern Iowa

#5 Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State

Like Kyle Conel, Jacob Holschlag is coming back from an injury, only in Holschlag's case, it was the entire season that was missed. Holschalg is listed as a redshirt senior on the UNI roster page, but may yet receive another year of eligibility from the NCAA. Whether this is Jacob's last or second-to-last season on the Panther Train, it's likely that the fifth-place finisher from 2018 contends with the elite of the division all season long.

Tanner Sloan has yet to compete in a varsity match for the Jackrabbits, but had one of the most impressive redshirt seasons of any true freshman. The Sloan Ranger notched wins over All-Americans Jacob Warner and Josh Hokit, as well as #9 ranked Eric Schultz, finishing with a record of 24-2. If Sloan can make another level jump like he did from high school to college, he'll be able to compete with the best of the division.

Watch Sloan's big win over Warner in the 2018 Midlands quarterfinals:

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The Rest of the Best of the Rest

You've seen the best of the rest, now check out the rest of the best. 

#6 Josh Hokit, Fresno State

#7 Jacob Warner, Iowa

#8 Nick Reenan, NC State

The next three wrestlers in the division continue the theme of the weight class having a lot of potential but unknowns clouding up the future with variabilities. This makes it more difficult for the pundits but more fun for the fans.

Hokit is currently scoring touchdowns (literally) for the Bulldog football team. He's got the athleticism to contend for a title; the question is can he make the transition between sports in time to peak in March. 

Josh Hokit with another score for @FresnoStateFB and the Bulldogs lead 7-0 early in the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/gk4PjhfnlF

— FloFootball (@FloFootball) September 29, 2019

Jacob Warner was a blue-chip recruit brought in to anchor the Hawkeye lineup at 197. Expectations were astronomical, but Warner was able to battle through some midseason missteps and an early upset at the NCAAs to fight his way onto the podium. Very few freshmen do better in March, which is why there is a lot of optimism for the young upperweight in Iowa City. 

Nick Reenan managed to qualify for the NCAAs as a true freshman in 2017 while cutting down to 174. A stellar redshirt campaign in 2018 led to high expectations in 2019, but late-season injuries hampered his question for an NCAA medal. The question in Raleigh is if this talented competitor has recovered from his injuries and if his sufficiently bulked up to handle 197.  

Sneaky Blinders & Landmines

Nomad calls them "sleepers," CP and Bratke call them "sneakers," we call them "sneaky blinders" because it sounds like the show Peaky Blinders and that show rules and everyone should watch it. 

#13 Thomas Lane, Cal Poly

#15 Ethan Laird, Rider

#24 Dom Ducharme, CSU-Bakersfield

Sam Schuyler, Buffalo

Thomas Lane burnished his landmine bona fides when he took out the #12 seed Rocco Caywood and the #5 seed Jacob Warner in his first two matches at the NCAAs in Pittsburgh. He is the veritable definition of a bracket-buster.

Laird made a run to the round of 16 from the #32 seed, winning three matches along the way. Ducharme is bumping up from 184 where he made the national tournament for the first time. Dom will be entering his third year of varsity wrestling, and as we all know, the third time is Ducharme.

Schuyler, like Ducharme, has found great results wrestling freestyle. If he can translate those to folkstyle results, he'll be right there with the top of the weight class.

New Blood

#5 Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State

Lucas Davison, Northwestern

Joel Shapiro, Iowa State

Michael Beard, Penn State

The only freshman in the top 25 is the aforementioned Tanner Sloan, but there's a trio of other freshmen that could find themselves ranked in a hurry, as well as a few inevitable surprises that elude our prognosticator's eye. Lucas Davison likely has the strongest claim for a ranking. The Wildcat freshman shut down his redshirt campaign after Midlands but had already accumulated several quality wins over NCAA qualifiers by that point. 

Joel Shapiro won his wrestle-off and will likely start the season for the Cyclones. He will be pushed for the starting job by teammate and fellow redshirt freshman Francis Duggan.

Finally, Michael Beard will likely begin the season on redshirt, but if Kyle Conel for whatever reason can't wrestle, Beard would a more than adequate substitute. 

Key Dates

Friday, December 6: Penn State at Lehigh

An early test for Kyle Conel vs #14 Jake Jakobsen.

Friday-Saturday, December 6-7: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational

This tourney should appear as a key date in every weight class preview, as this event is a veritable beast, likely to feature more All-Americans than any other tournaments save the NCAAs and maybe Big Tens. Slated to participate in Vegas are #1 Moore, #4 Holschlag, #5 Sloan, #8 Reenan, #9 Schultz, #10 Brunner, #12 Aiello, #12 Lane, #16 Woodley, #17 Ritter, #21 Reynolds, #22 Davidson, #23 Bulsak, Davison, Ducharme, Shapiro and more.

Monday-Tuesday, December 30-31: The 57th Midlands Championships

Jacob Warner will try to exorcise the demons of a disappointing tournament last season. This may be the toughest tournament for 197-pounders as #2 Brucki, #4 Holschlag, #7 Warner, #10 Brunner, #12 Aiello, #13 Lane, Davison, among others, are all scheduled to be in attendance. 

Friday, January 31: Penn State at Iowa

There's not a dual bout to be had in this match. Conel vs Warner is certainly no exception.

Saturday, February 15: Fresno State at South Dakota State

Football season will be a distant memory when Hokit and Sloan are slated to clash. 

Spey's Spredictions

1) Kollin Moore, Ohio State

2) Pat Brucki, Princeton

3) Jacob Holschlag, Northern Iowa

4) Tanner Sloan, South Dakota State

5) Josh Hokit, Fresno State

6) Jacob Warner, Iowa

7) Nick Reenan, North Carolina State

8)  Sam Schuyler, Buffalo

R12) Kyle Conel, Penn State

R12) Eric Schultz, Nebraska

R12) Christian Brunner, Purdue

R12) Thomas Lane, Cal Poly

Unlike the coward Daniel Nomad, we predict bloodrounders in these previews. 

We think it's finally Kollin Moore's time. All three of his losses last season were to Bo Nickal. The year before that, his only losses were to Michael Macchiavello (who won an NCAA championship that year), Anthony Cassar (who won an NCAA championship the next year), and Kyle Conel twice at NCAAs. Moore's beaten just about every other contender, and we think that trend continues, and that Kollin Moore ends up in the running for a Hodge. 

All the opponents that Pat Brucki lost to last season graduated. We think the human action figure reaches the finals in his third varsity season with the Tigers. 

We're assuming Jacob Holschlag recovered from his injury that head coach Dough Schwab mentioned in his media day interview recently and returns to the podium for the first time since 2018 in his senior campaign. 

We expect big things from Tanner Sloan, and we see the young Jackrabbit all the way up at #4. Hokit and Warner are also capable of big things, and we could easily see them making the finals, but at this point we're conservatively penciling them in for fifth and sixth. 

Our #7 and #8 wrestlers also have massive potential. Both are coming off injuries as well. Reenan has a better track record but has been down at 184 or lighter thus far in his career. Schuyler has less folkstyle wins to justify this pick, but his success as the U.S. Open and JR World Team Trials suggests he's ready to take the next step. 

We're big fans of the next quartet of bloodrounders; we just ran out of room on the podium. If healthy, Kyle Conel has the ability to win it all (having two wins over the #1 ranked guy is all the evidence you need for that). We'll be rooting for him, but we just aren't ready to pick him to All-American until we see him in action. 

Nomad closes out preview season with the heavyweights tomorrow. Then it's time, AT LAST, to watch some NCAA wrestling!