9 Questions We Want Answered At The Black Knight Invite
9 Questions We Want Answered At The Black Knight Invite
Our preview of the 2019 Black Knight Invitate wrestling tournament.
In only its third iteration, the Black Knight Invite is set to welcome two teams that finished in the top five of the 2019 NCAA tournament. Penn State and Michigan will be welcomed to West Point to partake in the toughest field in event history.
The Nittany Lions and Wolverines will be joined by Central Michigan, Indiana, Maryland, Bloomsburg, Hofstra, and the Black Knights themselves, and they will all duke it out on the banks of the Hudson this Sunday.
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Sunday, November 17 | 10:00 AM ET
Each team invited will be allowed to enter as many as 15 wrestlers, so there will be a good number of backups involved; however, everyone must wrestle attached, so no redshirts or greyshirts will be in the mix. With standard double elimination brackets and only NCAA Division 1 teams participating, everyone is guaranteed at least two matches that will count for NCAA tournament qualification purposes, with most starters getting one or two more.
Here are nine questions to which we're hoping the Black Knight Invite provides answers.
1) Is Mark Hall a Hodge contender?
Nittany Lions have won five of the last eight Hodge Trophies, including the last three. Will Hall join fellow Penn Staters Bo Nickal, Zain Retherford, David Taylor, and Kerry McCoy in hoisting college wrestling's most prestigious award?
Mark sits at #6 in our official Hodge Trophy preseason rankings. A few pins at the Invite will keep Hall's senior season campaign headed in the right direction.
Watch Hall pin #18 Spencer Carey of Navy in the first period from last week's dual:
2) How deep are the Black Knights?
Army will be sending six former NCAA qualifiers, including four top-25 wrestlers. They also have approximately 300 guys on their roster, all of whom are potential landmines in the tournament. That kind of depth has helped the Black Knights start the season 3-1 with a win over Illinois and a just a one-point defeat to #6 Wisconsin.
This is clearly a well-balanced dual meet team, but how will that translate to tournament scoring when Penn State and Michigan are involved? We'll soon find out, but don't be surprised if the Black Knights score more than a couple of upsets while competing on home turf.
Watch Army's 149-pounder PJ Ogunsanya steal a victory from Wisconsin's #13 Cole Martin with a hail mary mixer in tie-breakers:
3) Who will start 149 for the Nittany Lions?
Luke Garnder got the nod last week against Navy in the Nittany Lion's first dual meet of the season, but the junior hasn't locked up the starting job yet. He will vie for the spot with sophomore Jarod Verkleeren. Neither native Pennsylvanian has wrestled yet in the collegiate postseason.
Coach Sanderson and company will be watching closely and will likely use their 149-pounders' performances as a de facto wrestle-off. The BK Invite will get us all closer to an assumed postseason starter, just don't expect a definite answer from the coaching staff until Big Tens.
4) How great is the Mason Parris vs Matt Stencel rivalry?
Last year, Parris pinned Stencel in 14 seconds in the first weekend of the season at the MSU Open. Later that season at Midlands, Stencel got revenge with a 30-second pin of Parris. At NCAAs, it was Stencel who once again with the fall over Parris, this time in two minutes and 30 seconds.
The two big men clashed once again two weeks ago at the most recent MSU Open. This time, the match lasted all seven minutes, and it was Mason with a 9-2 victory. Can Matt once again reverse the most recent result in round five? We'll find out if they both make the finals as one of NCAA's best heavyweight rivalries in recent memory chugs along.
5) Is Brody Teske ready to jump levels?
Ever since Nick Suriano left Happy Valley and took his talents back to Jersey, Cael Sanderson has been in search of a title contender at 125. Teske won his first match of the season against Navy's Logan Treaster, but Brody will have two other teammates in his bracket to contend with: Devin Schnupp and Brandon Meredith. As such, 125 will be another de facto, unofficial wrestle-off weight class for the Nittany Lions.
Watch Teske's narrow one-point victory over Treaster:
6) Will we see a Hudkins/Hildy rematch? Or will Medley play the spoiler?
125 has the most ranked wrestlers registered, with #10 Brock Hudkins of Indiana, #11 Drew Hildebrandt of Central Michigan, and #23 Jack Medley of Michigan. Throw in NCAA qualifier Trey Chalifoux of Army and you have probably the deepest weight at the tournament.
Hudkins upset Hildebrandt on his way to an MSU Open earlier this season. Will Hildebrandt get revenge, or will Medley, Chalifoux, or someone else spoil the party?
7) Can anyone challenge RBY or Nick Lee?
Roman Bravo-Young is the only ranked wrestler at 133. Nick Lee shares his weight class with one other ranked competitor, #21 Corey Shie. Neither Nittany Lion has another All-American in their division.
It's doubtful either guy has a total cake-walk through the tourney, but bonus points in every match is still highly probable.
8) Is Will Lewan elite?
Of course, Will Lewan is elite in many senses of the word. If being a UWW Cadet World Champion makes you elite (and it does), then yes, Will Lewan is elite.
Lewan, a redshirt freshman, is ranked in the top 10. There was some friendly shouting on FRL today about whether or not that is where the Wolverine deserved that lofty status. The evidence on both sides of the argument. Lewan beat a couple ranked wrestlers at the MSU Open but recently lost to #18 AC Headlee. Lewan will have an opportunity to prove his bona fides with NCAA qualifiers Logan Parks of CMU and Luke Weiland in his bracket. And after the tournament, a change in ranking, either up or down, may be warranted.
But honestly, 157 is already a mess, so your best guess is as good as ours.
9) What versions of Kyle Conel will we see?
Conel is obviously capable of smashing through the 197-pound weight class, as he did in 2018 when he defeated current #1 Kollin Moore twice on his way to a third-place finish at NCAAs. Injuries kept him out of action for nearly all of 2019. Conel, however, was underwhelming against Navy. Was that early-season mat-rust? We'll see if Conel can get back to his pulverizing ways soon enough.