3 Big Iowa/PSU Questions After Senior Nationals
3 Big Iowa/PSU Questions After Senior Nationals
Iowa and Penn State registered significant results at Senior Nationals. Here's how those shape our perception of the team race moving forward.
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While Senior Nationals added a lot of clarity to what the field will look like at the Olympic Trials, it raised a few big questions for the NCAA team race between this year’s front-runners, Iowa and Penn State. Here are three important questions to consider after Senior Nationals.
1) Is Eierman an Option for Iowa at 141?
Earlier this fall, Jaydin Eierman entered the transfer portal and then quickly announced his intention to transfer from Missouri to Iowa. Eierman’s plan has been to use this season as an Olympic Redshirt in order to build toward his Tokyo dream.
That dream was complicated this weekend after Eierman did not finish inside the top five, thus not yet qualifying for the Olympic Trials. Under the Olympic Redshirt plan, Eierman would only have one more opportunity to qualify for the Trials, placing in the top two at the Last Chance Qualifier on March 26-28.
If Eierman were to trade the Olympic Redshirt for an Iowa singlet this year, he could give himself another opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Trials by winning NCAAs. This would also bolster Iowa's chances of winning a team title in this highly competitive team race with Penn State.
If Eierman was to enter the NCAA mix, he would immediately be considered one of the favorites alongside Ohio State’s Luke Pletcher, Minnesota’s Mitch McKee, Oklahoma’s Dom Demas, and Penn State’s Nick Lee, who beat Eierman this weekend at Senior Nationals.
2) What is the extent of Cassar’s injury, and could Kerkvliet go this semester?
Anthony Cassar looked solid in the early stages of Senior Nationals, but his tournament was cut short due to an apparent shoulder injury in the semifinals. Cassar was unable to finish that match and needed to default to sixth place. This means he is not qualified for the Olympic Trials, and it raises questions about his availability for Penn State the rest of this season.
It is impossible to know how serious Cassar’s injury is. The best-case scenario would be that Cassar returns to full strength to make another run at the NCAA title. That title run would most likely run, once again, through Gable Steveson, who made his return to NCAA competition this weekend. Cassar owned two dramatic wins over Gable last year at Big Tens and NCAAs.
Greg Kerkvliet, the recent Penn State transfer, had a solid weekend at Senior Nationals. He finished third with two wins over Penn State All-American Nick Nevills. If Cassar is unable to compete this year, Kerkvliet could be an outstanding option for the Nittany Lions, if he’s available.
3) How high will Aaron Brooks finish in March?
Two weekends ago, Aaron Brooks came out of redshirt to compete at 184 for Penn State. This weekend he finished sixth at Senior Nationals.
Perhaps Brooks’ most compelling match came against two-time NCAA champion Zahid Valencia in the semifinals. Valencia won that heated match 6-0. While it appears that Brooks may not be ready to take the title from Valencia, he clearly has a high ceiling at 184 this season. Brooks knocked off Max Dean, last year’s runner-up at 184, and took one of his two matches against former Iowa All-American Sammy Brooks.
We haven’t had a chance to see Brooks against the top NCAA 184-pounders this year, but his solid finish at Senior Nationals suggests that Penn State can count on him for significant points this year but will need to see more from him to consider him a title contender.
