Greg Herenda
- By opie22
- Inside Gopher Nation
- 40 Replies
Fairleigh Dickinson won their conference tournament. Therefore many of you want their coach, Greg Herenda, to be our new coach. So here he is....
St. Cloud State drops 6 Sports; Wrestling remains with a smaller roster
- By Unlimited424
- Dinkytown XIX
- 0 Replies
St. Cloud State Wrestling won its first DII national championship last year and they won their 2nd consecutive Natty last weekend at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, SD.
Way to go Huskies!!!
Wrestling remains at St. Cloud State, but with smaller roster
Mark Palmer, InterMat Senior Writer
3/10/2016
The 2015 NCAA Division II title-winning wrestling program at St. Cloud State University will remain one of the varsity sports offered by the Minnesota-based school, but is one of four men's sports programs forced to make roster reductions.
St. Cloud State will eliminate men's and women's tennis, women's Nordic Skiing, men's cross country and men's indoor/outdoor track and field -- directly affecting 80 student-athletes out of a total of approximately 530 -- effective at the end of the 2015-16 academic year. However, wrestling -- along with baseball, football, and swimming & diving -- will take part in what the school described as "an extensive roster management program will be implemented to achieve Title IX compliance."
The St. Cloud Times reported the SCSU wrestling program will lose 14 roster spots, for a total of 38 roster spots in 2016-17. By comparison, the average Division II wrestling program has 33 on its roster, according to SCSU Athletics Director Heather Weems.
"The decision to eliminate programs better aligns St. Cloud State's sport portfolio with the athletics department's mission and vision while addressing budget shortfalls," according to a statement posted on the school's athletics website .
The statement went on to say that SCSU considered a number of criteria in its athletics review process, including the history and tradition of the programs, facilities availability and conditions, recent competitive success, investment needs, alumni engagement and financial support, regional participation/interest, and Title IX compliance.
"It should be really clear that the cuts that we are making are not because of Title IX," said SCSU President Earl H. Potter III. "They are being made because we have a $9 million budget hole to close in (fiscal year 2017), which we will do."
"This has been a very difficult process and decision," said Weems. "This decision impacts the lives of our students and coaches, and their connection with our community. That said, athletics expenses continue to increase across all sports each year, and we are not able to meet the financial and support expectations of our programs. These reductions will focus our long-term investments into the remaining programs to provide a stronger and more sustainable experience to our student-athletes as part of the university cost-containment requirement."
In explaining why some programs survived direct elimination but will still face roster cuts, Weems said, "Baseball, wrestling and swimming and diving have all demonstrated continued success in my tenure." (Weems became the school's AD in 2012.)
The school expects to save approximately $250,000 in fiscal year 2017, which amounts to about five percent of the athletics general fund allocation. The department anticipates a $500,000 shortfall this fiscal year.
"St. Cloud State, like other public universities across the state, is dealing with falling enrollment and nagging deficits," the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. "SCSU enrollment stands at 15,461, down from 18,650 in the fall of 2010, a more dramatic drop than at many of its sister schools. It is currently battling a $6 million budget gap."
News of the athletic department cuts was presented to St. Cloud State coaches at a meeting with administrators at 7:45 a.m. last Wednesday; 200 to 300 student-athletes learned their fates barely 15 minutes later.
Wrestling coach Steve Costanzo, whose program brought St. Cloud its first national title in any sport, said it had been "rumored for a while" that his roster would be taking a hit. "The hardest part is the team is so close," said Costanzo.
SCSU wrestler Clayton Jennissen, who qualified to compete at this weekend's NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, said he's trying to stay focused on the national meet, but greeted the news with a glass-half-full attitude. "It's better than getting cut, like some of the other teams," he said.
The St. Cloud State Huskies will attempt to defend their team title at the 2016 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships to be held this weekend at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
And the original article on this issue from the St. Cloud Times:
SCSU drops 6 sports, looks ahead
Mitch LeClair and Mick Hatten
stcloudtimes.com
5:28 p.m. March 2, 2016
St. Cloud State University Athletic Director Heather Weems talk about the decision to eliminate six of the university's 23 athletic teams as President Earl H. Potter III listens during a press conference Wednesday, March 2, in the Husky Den at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center
Photo: Kimm Anderson
Heather Weems has been St. Cloud State University's athletic director since June 1, 2012, and she typically gets energized by the department's environment on a daily basis.
Wednesday was not one of those days.
"(It) is not one of those days as an athletics director that you look forward to, and it is not one that you get into the job to do," she said. "This is part of the business side of what we do."
St. Cloud State is cutting athletics programs by six — from 23 to 17 — at the end of this academic year. Its budget-cutting moves also are reducing rosters for seven remaining sports. Six sports' rosters will increase.
For programs not getting cut, there will be no loss in the number of scholarships offered. But about 15 percent of the school's student-athletes are directly affected by cuts.
The sports reductions will save about $250,000 for the fiscal year, or about 5 percent of the general fund allocation for athletics. The department anticipates a $500,000 shortfall this fiscal year.
"This does not completely eliminate that (shortfall), but it begins to contain costs," Weems said. "It's not just about today. The costs in our business continue to go up every year: bus charges, lodging and meals for student-athletes continue to increase.
"Part of this is positioning us so that we can be successful as well."
Serious conversations about the athletic department's portion of the university's $9 million budget deficit began in January after President Earl H. Potter III sent a campuswide email about containing costs.
"We had a pretty in-depth conversation in a coaches meeting on Jan. 19," Weems said. "We've had quite a few conversations over the past couple months about roster management.
Coaches were not part the discussions on sports eliminations, she said.
"I didn't see value in pitting them against one another. I didn't see value in making them stress about what was going to happen. At the end of the day, a decision was going to have to be made. We did it the best that we could, and they are not pleasant circumstances."
The university will eliminate men's and women's tennis, women's Nordic skiing, men's cross country and both indoor and outdoor men's track and field.
The school announced the move and released documents in a Wednesday morning news conference inside Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
News conference at SCSU
Weems and Potter spoke to coaches and student athletes earlier Wednesday in Ritsche Auditorium.
"We are also engaging in roster management to make sure that we are exactly and completely in compliance with Title IX," the president said, referring to the portion of federal law that requires equal opportunity based on gender.
"It should be really clear that the cuts that we are making are not because of Title IX," he said. "They are being made because we have a $9 million budget hole to close in (fiscal year 2017), which we will do."
After the conference, Potter said the school anticipates $1.6 million in new revenue this fiscal year. The school will close the rest of the gap with cuts, he said. Two-thirds of the $9 million shortfall is a "structural hole," Potter said, and the remainder is money it must return to reserves.
He doesn't expect the shortfall to require further substantial changes to the school's structure for the next couple years.
Buy Photo
St. Cloud State University Women's Basketball Head Coach Lori Fish, in red, center, listens during a press conference to announce the elimination of six of the university's 23 sports teams Wednesday, March 2, in the Husky Den at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Women's basketball was not one of the eliminated sports. (Photo: Kimm Anderson, kanderson@stcloudtimes.com)
"This does the job we need to do right now," Potter said.
The president said he doesn't expect a big improvement in finances in the immediate future. Minnesota demographics and a strong economy aren't helpful for enrollment growth, he said. Potter also mentioned the relative decline in state funding for higher education and tuition caps in three of the past four years.
"Each campus unit has been asked to reduce expenses to address (university) financial sustainability," according to school documents.
“During my nine years as president, I’ve tried to avoid damaging our athletic programs," Potter said. "But I’ve been cutting budgets for nine years."
University data show 530 student-athletes at St. Cloud State. The restructuring will directly affect about 80.
National Collegiate Athletic Association rules call for "immediate relief from transfer residency requirements." Potter said leaders of NSIC schools and athletic departments are aware of Huskies' opportunities to transfer.
The school will honor current scholarships up to a total of four years. Both Potter and Weems mentioned support systems for student-athletes, including a website with phone numbers and other resources.
Morning meetings
An email sent Tuesday afternoon asked all SCSU athletes and coaches to attend a Wednesday morning meeting. The athletes were excused from classes until 10 a.m. and were required to attend.
"There have been a number of schools who have been in this position and only had the meeting with the affected sports," Weems said. "I deliberately chose not to do that because, in my mind, we are a community, and we support one another in the good times and the bad.
"I thought it was important that all of our student-athletes were aware of what their peers were experiencing and that I encouraged them to have empathy and support one another."
Student-athletes described their meeting as "dim" and "upset, angry, emotional."
Jovonte Suber said his men's track and field team performed well at the recent indoor NSIC tournament. The St. Louis native said the program didn't receive much publicity support from the university.
ST. CLOUD TIMES
SCSU football program feels pain of roster cuts
Football and track and field student-athlete Rafael Saez said having the opportunity to participate in both "was the reason I chose St. Cloud State."
The fourth-year student from Milwaukee said the men's track and field team was seeing success and moving in the right direction.
"That's being forced to come to a complete stop," he said.
While he is on track to graduate in a few months, Saez said he feels for the younger student-athletes affected by the decision.
Saez praised the job Weems has done at St. Cloud State, especially with efforts to get to know student-athletes.
"You can see and hear the emotion in her voice," he said about the athletic director's message delivery Wednesday.
Katie Fitzgerald, a hockey player from Chicago, said student-athletes were nervous before the meeting.
"Everyone was walking on eggshells" not knowing what the outcome would be, she said.
"It's really sad for those who did end up getting programs cut," Fitzgerald said.
Some student-athletes shed tears during the meeting, she said, and the participants in programs the school is keeping seemed grateful.
Fitzgerald is also on track to graduate this spring. She said a couple older friends in the tennis program were consoling younger teammates Wednesday.
Buy Photo
St. Cloud State University President Earl H. Potter III talks about the budgetary concerns that necessitated the elimination of six of the university's 23 athletic teams during a press conference Wednesday, March 2 ,in the Husky Den at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. (Photo: Kimm Anderson, kanderson@stcloudtimes.com)
Effects on programs
This school year, St. Cloud State's 23 sports programs are the most offered by any NSIC school. Minnesota State University-Mankato, which is also an NSIC and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities school, offers 20 sports. Bemidji State University, another MnSCU member of the NSIC, offers 15.
The moves Wednesday do not affect St. Cloud State's status in the NSIC or Division II. The NCAA requires that its members offer at least 10 varsity sports to remain at the Division II level.
The St. Cloud State teams that will suffer the most significant roster reductions will be wrestling, baseball and the men's swimming and diving team:
"It's fundraising and alumni engagement and competitive success and, in those (three) sports, it has been stronger (than other) programs.
"Baseball, wrestling and swimming and diving have all demonstrated continued success in my tenure," Weems said.
The programs with the largest increases in roster spots will be women's outdoor track and field (23 to 38), women's indoor track and field (27 to 38) and women's cross country (10 to 14).
Most of the track and field athletes compete both indoors and outdoors. The elimination of the men's programs in track and field and cross country helped facilitate the increase for women. Both the men's and women's track and field teams have one head coach, Sam Kettenhofen.
"That was a program that was stretched pretty thin with one head coach, one (graduate assistant) and a few field coaches for an upwards of 80 kids," Weems said of the men's and women's track and field teams. "Reasonably, we can expect that (Kettenhofen) will be able to spend more time recruiting and developing the women's program now. ... And I don't say that lightly."
Current (unofficial) and expected rosters
Women's '15-'16 '16-'17 Change
Basketball 17 18 6%
Cross country 10 14 40%
Golf 13 12 -8%
Hockey 24 25 4%
Nordic skiing 8 0 -100%
Soccer 30 28 -7%
Softball 25 23 -8%
Swim/dive 40 40 0%
Tennis 9 0 -100%
Indoor track 27 38 41%
Outdoor track 23 38 65%
Volleyball 20 18 -10%
PARTICIPANTS 246 254 3%
Men's '15-'16 '16-'17 Change
Baseball 49 37 -24%
Basketball 15 15 0%
Cross country 9 0 -100%
Football 102 97 -5%
Golf 10 10 0%
Hockey 26 27 4%
Swim/dive 37 26 -30%
Tennis 12 0 -100%
Indoor track 33 0 -100%
Outdoor track 29 0 -100%
Wrestling 52 38 -27%
PARTICIPANTS 374 250 -33%
Source: St. Cloud State University
Way to go Huskies!!!
Wrestling remains at St. Cloud State, but with smaller roster
Mark Palmer, InterMat Senior Writer
3/10/2016
The 2015 NCAA Division II title-winning wrestling program at St. Cloud State University will remain one of the varsity sports offered by the Minnesota-based school, but is one of four men's sports programs forced to make roster reductions.
St. Cloud State will eliminate men's and women's tennis, women's Nordic Skiing, men's cross country and men's indoor/outdoor track and field -- directly affecting 80 student-athletes out of a total of approximately 530 -- effective at the end of the 2015-16 academic year. However, wrestling -- along with baseball, football, and swimming & diving -- will take part in what the school described as "an extensive roster management program will be implemented to achieve Title IX compliance."
The St. Cloud Times reported the SCSU wrestling program will lose 14 roster spots, for a total of 38 roster spots in 2016-17. By comparison, the average Division II wrestling program has 33 on its roster, according to SCSU Athletics Director Heather Weems.
"The decision to eliminate programs better aligns St. Cloud State's sport portfolio with the athletics department's mission and vision while addressing budget shortfalls," according to a statement posted on the school's athletics website .
The statement went on to say that SCSU considered a number of criteria in its athletics review process, including the history and tradition of the programs, facilities availability and conditions, recent competitive success, investment needs, alumni engagement and financial support, regional participation/interest, and Title IX compliance.
"It should be really clear that the cuts that we are making are not because of Title IX," said SCSU President Earl H. Potter III. "They are being made because we have a $9 million budget hole to close in (fiscal year 2017), which we will do."
"This has been a very difficult process and decision," said Weems. "This decision impacts the lives of our students and coaches, and their connection with our community. That said, athletics expenses continue to increase across all sports each year, and we are not able to meet the financial and support expectations of our programs. These reductions will focus our long-term investments into the remaining programs to provide a stronger and more sustainable experience to our student-athletes as part of the university cost-containment requirement."
In explaining why some programs survived direct elimination but will still face roster cuts, Weems said, "Baseball, wrestling and swimming and diving have all demonstrated continued success in my tenure." (Weems became the school's AD in 2012.)
The school expects to save approximately $250,000 in fiscal year 2017, which amounts to about five percent of the athletics general fund allocation. The department anticipates a $500,000 shortfall this fiscal year.
"St. Cloud State, like other public universities across the state, is dealing with falling enrollment and nagging deficits," the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. "SCSU enrollment stands at 15,461, down from 18,650 in the fall of 2010, a more dramatic drop than at many of its sister schools. It is currently battling a $6 million budget gap."
News of the athletic department cuts was presented to St. Cloud State coaches at a meeting with administrators at 7:45 a.m. last Wednesday; 200 to 300 student-athletes learned their fates barely 15 minutes later.
Wrestling coach Steve Costanzo, whose program brought St. Cloud its first national title in any sport, said it had been "rumored for a while" that his roster would be taking a hit. "The hardest part is the team is so close," said Costanzo.
SCSU wrestler Clayton Jennissen, who qualified to compete at this weekend's NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, said he's trying to stay focused on the national meet, but greeted the news with a glass-half-full attitude. "It's better than getting cut, like some of the other teams," he said.
The St. Cloud State Huskies will attempt to defend their team title at the 2016 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships to be held this weekend at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
And the original article on this issue from the St. Cloud Times:
SCSU drops 6 sports, looks ahead
Mitch LeClair and Mick Hatten
stcloudtimes.com
5:28 p.m. March 2, 2016
St. Cloud State University Athletic Director Heather Weems talk about the decision to eliminate six of the university's 23 athletic teams as President Earl H. Potter III listens during a press conference Wednesday, March 2, in the Husky Den at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center
Photo: Kimm Anderson
Heather Weems has been St. Cloud State University's athletic director since June 1, 2012, and she typically gets energized by the department's environment on a daily basis.
Wednesday was not one of those days.
"(It) is not one of those days as an athletics director that you look forward to, and it is not one that you get into the job to do," she said. "This is part of the business side of what we do."
St. Cloud State is cutting athletics programs by six — from 23 to 17 — at the end of this academic year. Its budget-cutting moves also are reducing rosters for seven remaining sports. Six sports' rosters will increase.
For programs not getting cut, there will be no loss in the number of scholarships offered. But about 15 percent of the school's student-athletes are directly affected by cuts.
The sports reductions will save about $250,000 for the fiscal year, or about 5 percent of the general fund allocation for athletics. The department anticipates a $500,000 shortfall this fiscal year.
"This does not completely eliminate that (shortfall), but it begins to contain costs," Weems said. "It's not just about today. The costs in our business continue to go up every year: bus charges, lodging and meals for student-athletes continue to increase.
"Part of this is positioning us so that we can be successful as well."
Serious conversations about the athletic department's portion of the university's $9 million budget deficit began in January after President Earl H. Potter III sent a campuswide email about containing costs.
"We had a pretty in-depth conversation in a coaches meeting on Jan. 19," Weems said. "We've had quite a few conversations over the past couple months about roster management.
Coaches were not part the discussions on sports eliminations, she said.
"I didn't see value in pitting them against one another. I didn't see value in making them stress about what was going to happen. At the end of the day, a decision was going to have to be made. We did it the best that we could, and they are not pleasant circumstances."
The university will eliminate men's and women's tennis, women's Nordic skiing, men's cross country and both indoor and outdoor men's track and field.
The school announced the move and released documents in a Wednesday morning news conference inside Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
News conference at SCSU
Weems and Potter spoke to coaches and student athletes earlier Wednesday in Ritsche Auditorium.
"We are also engaging in roster management to make sure that we are exactly and completely in compliance with Title IX," the president said, referring to the portion of federal law that requires equal opportunity based on gender.
"It should be really clear that the cuts that we are making are not because of Title IX," he said. "They are being made because we have a $9 million budget hole to close in (fiscal year 2017), which we will do."
After the conference, Potter said the school anticipates $1.6 million in new revenue this fiscal year. The school will close the rest of the gap with cuts, he said. Two-thirds of the $9 million shortfall is a "structural hole," Potter said, and the remainder is money it must return to reserves.
He doesn't expect the shortfall to require further substantial changes to the school's structure for the next couple years.
St. Cloud State University Women's Basketball Head Coach Lori Fish, in red, center, listens during a press conference to announce the elimination of six of the university's 23 sports teams Wednesday, March 2, in the Husky Den at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Women's basketball was not one of the eliminated sports. (Photo: Kimm Anderson, kanderson@stcloudtimes.com)
"This does the job we need to do right now," Potter said.
The president said he doesn't expect a big improvement in finances in the immediate future. Minnesota demographics and a strong economy aren't helpful for enrollment growth, he said. Potter also mentioned the relative decline in state funding for higher education and tuition caps in three of the past four years.
"Each campus unit has been asked to reduce expenses to address (university) financial sustainability," according to school documents.
“During my nine years as president, I’ve tried to avoid damaging our athletic programs," Potter said. "But I’ve been cutting budgets for nine years."
University data show 530 student-athletes at St. Cloud State. The restructuring will directly affect about 80.
National Collegiate Athletic Association rules call for "immediate relief from transfer residency requirements." Potter said leaders of NSIC schools and athletic departments are aware of Huskies' opportunities to transfer.
The school will honor current scholarships up to a total of four years. Both Potter and Weems mentioned support systems for student-athletes, including a website with phone numbers and other resources.
Morning meetings
An email sent Tuesday afternoon asked all SCSU athletes and coaches to attend a Wednesday morning meeting. The athletes were excused from classes until 10 a.m. and were required to attend.
"There have been a number of schools who have been in this position and only had the meeting with the affected sports," Weems said. "I deliberately chose not to do that because, in my mind, we are a community, and we support one another in the good times and the bad.
"I thought it was important that all of our student-athletes were aware of what their peers were experiencing and that I encouraged them to have empathy and support one another."
Student-athletes described their meeting as "dim" and "upset, angry, emotional."
Jovonte Suber said his men's track and field team performed well at the recent indoor NSIC tournament. The St. Louis native said the program didn't receive much publicity support from the university.
ST. CLOUD TIMES
SCSU football program feels pain of roster cuts
Football and track and field student-athlete Rafael Saez said having the opportunity to participate in both "was the reason I chose St. Cloud State."
The fourth-year student from Milwaukee said the men's track and field team was seeing success and moving in the right direction.
"That's being forced to come to a complete stop," he said.
While he is on track to graduate in a few months, Saez said he feels for the younger student-athletes affected by the decision.
Saez praised the job Weems has done at St. Cloud State, especially with efforts to get to know student-athletes.
"You can see and hear the emotion in her voice," he said about the athletic director's message delivery Wednesday.
Katie Fitzgerald, a hockey player from Chicago, said student-athletes were nervous before the meeting.
"Everyone was walking on eggshells" not knowing what the outcome would be, she said.
"It's really sad for those who did end up getting programs cut," Fitzgerald said.
Some student-athletes shed tears during the meeting, she said, and the participants in programs the school is keeping seemed grateful.
Fitzgerald is also on track to graduate this spring. She said a couple older friends in the tennis program were consoling younger teammates Wednesday.
St. Cloud State University President Earl H. Potter III talks about the budgetary concerns that necessitated the elimination of six of the university's 23 athletic teams during a press conference Wednesday, March 2 ,in the Husky Den at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. (Photo: Kimm Anderson, kanderson@stcloudtimes.com)
Effects on programs
This school year, St. Cloud State's 23 sports programs are the most offered by any NSIC school. Minnesota State University-Mankato, which is also an NSIC and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities school, offers 20 sports. Bemidji State University, another MnSCU member of the NSIC, offers 15.
The moves Wednesday do not affect St. Cloud State's status in the NSIC or Division II. The NCAA requires that its members offer at least 10 varsity sports to remain at the Division II level.
The St. Cloud State teams that will suffer the most significant roster reductions will be wrestling, baseball and the men's swimming and diving team:
- The wrestling team, which won the university's first national team title last season, will lose 14 roster spots. The team, which has "4-4½ scholarships" will have 38 roster spots in 2016-17. Weems added that the average Division II wrestling program has 33 on its roster.
- The baseball team, which was ranked No. 1 going into the playoffs last season and set a school record for wins, will lose 12 roster spots. The team, which has two scholarships, will have 37 roster sports in 2016-17.
- Men's swimming and diving will lose 11 roster spots and have 26 in 2016-17.
"It's fundraising and alumni engagement and competitive success and, in those (three) sports, it has been stronger (than other) programs.
"Baseball, wrestling and swimming and diving have all demonstrated continued success in my tenure," Weems said.
The programs with the largest increases in roster spots will be women's outdoor track and field (23 to 38), women's indoor track and field (27 to 38) and women's cross country (10 to 14).
Most of the track and field athletes compete both indoors and outdoors. The elimination of the men's programs in track and field and cross country helped facilitate the increase for women. Both the men's and women's track and field teams have one head coach, Sam Kettenhofen.
"That was a program that was stretched pretty thin with one head coach, one (graduate assistant) and a few field coaches for an upwards of 80 kids," Weems said of the men's and women's track and field teams. "Reasonably, we can expect that (Kettenhofen) will be able to spend more time recruiting and developing the women's program now. ... And I don't say that lightly."
Current (unofficial) and expected rosters
Women's '15-'16 '16-'17 Change
Basketball 17 18 6%
Cross country 10 14 40%
Golf 13 12 -8%
Hockey 24 25 4%
Nordic skiing 8 0 -100%
Soccer 30 28 -7%
Softball 25 23 -8%
Swim/dive 40 40 0%
Tennis 9 0 -100%
Indoor track 27 38 41%
Outdoor track 23 38 65%
Volleyball 20 18 -10%
PARTICIPANTS 246 254 3%
Men's '15-'16 '16-'17 Change
Baseball 49 37 -24%
Basketball 15 15 0%
Cross country 9 0 -100%
Football 102 97 -5%
Golf 10 10 0%
Hockey 26 27 4%
Swim/dive 37 26 -30%
Tennis 12 0 -100%
Indoor track 33 0 -100%
Outdoor track 29 0 -100%
Wrestling 52 38 -27%
PARTICIPANTS 374 250 -33%
Source: St. Cloud State University
NCAA DI Wrestling Tournament brackets out
- By Unlimited424
- Inside Gopher Nation
- 1 Replies
The NCAA released the brackets for the DI National Championships late today to be held March 17th-19th at Madison Square Garden in New York City. I am reposting two articles (posted in last weekend's B1G Wrestling tournament thread) talking about the automatic and at-large qualifiers for the NCAA tournament, so you have the backstory for how these qualifiers got into the big dance!
Here are the brackets, followed by the qualifier articles (comments at the end):
http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/images/2016/03/09/2016d1wrestling.pdf
Four Gophers Punch NCAA Tickets at Big Tens
Led by third-place performances from the team's captains -- Brett Pfarr and Michael Kroells -- a quartet of Minnesota grapplers secured their spots in the national tournament
Nick Wanzek secured his first career NCAA tournament berth with his finish at the Big Ten Championships.
GopherSports.com
March 6, 2016
Photo Gallery
Minnesota wrapped up the 2016 Big Ten Championships with four wrestlers earning automatic bids to the NCAA tournament in two weeks. As a team, the Gophers placed ninth with 51.5 points.
The Minnesota foursome guaranteed to be in the NCAA field includes three Gophers who wrestled for third place at their respective weights on Sunday -- Tommy Thorn, Brett Pfarr and Michael Kroells -- as well as 174-pounder Nick Wanzek, who finished ninth to capture the conference's last remaining automatic bid at his weight. In addition to the automatic qualifiers, Jake Short also placed, taking seventh at 149 pounds, but he will need an at-large selection to join his teammates at the national tournament.
After an overtime defeat in yesterday's semifinal, Pfarr rebounded with a pair of victories over top-ten opponents on Saturday to finish third, first over Max Huntley (Michigan), 8-3, and then Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 3-1. Pfarr did not allow a takedown to either of his opponents on Sunday. In both of his season as a full-time starter for the Gophers, Pfarr has placed in the top three at Big Tens, taking second last year at 184 pounds before his third-place finish at 197 this year.
Kroells came back from a heartbreaking loss that went through two overtime-and-tiebreaker sets in yesterday's semifinal to match Pfarr's team-best, third-place finish. Like Pfarr, Kroells was not taken down in either of his Sunday matches, defeating Brooks Black (Illinois), 1-0, before a rematch of his quarterfinal contest with Billy Smith (Rutgers). Just as they had earlier in the tournament, Kroells and Smith wrestled into tiebreakers, but a rideout for Kroells when he was on top and an escape and takedown from bottom gave him a 4-1 win. Kroells' third-place finish is two spots higher than his debut performance at Big Tens last season.
In his first career Big Ten tournament, Thorn put together a 3-1 showing on Saturday before advancing to the third-place match with an 11-6 win over Javier Gasca III (Michigan State) in a consolation semifinal Sunday afternoon. In the third-place contest, Thorn brought a 3-1 lead into the third period but a double-leg takedown from top seed Micah Jordan (Ohio State) put Thorn to his back, where he was pinned at 5:40. It was just the second loss by fall in Thorn's collegiate career. His fourth-place finish guarantees Thorn the opportunity to make his NCAA Championships debut later this month.
Wanzek clinched his first NCAA bid by winning a ninth-place match early Sunday afternoon over Mitch Sliga (Northwestern). The tournament typically does not feature ninth-place matches but with the NCAA awarding the Big Ten nine automatic bids to the NCAA Championships at 174 pounds, deciding ninth place became highly relevant. Wanzek earned the bid by defeating Sliga 8-3, his third win over the Wildcat this season.
Short was the only other Gopher in action on the tournament's final day. He defeated Cody Burcher (OSU), 4-2 to take seventh place at 149. Because the Big Ten was awarded just six automatic tournament berths at that weight, Short will have to be selected as an at-large participant to this year's field to make his first career NCAA tournament appearance. His resume for that spot includes five wins over NCAA qualifiers and a ranking that places him among the top-three at-large candidates at 149 (the NCAA will select five at-large competitors for the 149 bracket).
Full match-by-match results are listed below.
With the Big Ten Championships complete, only one event remains on the 2015-16 schedule -- the NCAA Championships. The pinnacle of the college wrestling season begins in two weeks, on Thursday, March 17, and runs for three days. For the first time ever, this year's event will be hosted at "The World's Most Famous Arena," Madison Square Gardens in New York City.
Match-by-Match Results
141 - Tommy Thorn
Cons Semis: Tommy Thorn dec Javier Gasca III (Michigan State), 11-6
3rd Place: Micah Jordan (Ohio State) fall (5:40) Tommy Thorn
149 - Jake Short
7th Place: Jake Short dec Cody Burcher (Ohio State), 4-2
174 - Nick Wanzek
Qualifier (9th place): Nick Wanzek dec Mitch Sliga (Northwestern), 8-3
197 - Brett Pfarr
Cons Semis: Brett Pfarr dec Max Huntley (Michigan), 8-3
3rd Place: Brett Pfarr dec Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 3-1
285 - Michael Kroells
Cons Semis: Michael Kroells dec Brooks Black (Illinois), 1-0
3rd Place: Michael Kroells dec (TB-1) Billy Smith (Rutgers), 4-1
So we have 4 automatic qualifiers to the Nattys and Short will also get an at-large slot. Of these 5 Natty participants...could they have done better?? Kroells was seeded 5th and he got 3rd, so he outperformed his level. Short was seeded 7th and took 7th. #2 Pfarr took 3rd, #2 Thorn took 4th, and #7 Wanzek took 9th. So, yes the last three could have done better, but they still did well, and I don't think it's worth being upset about. Tommy was winning vs. #1 Jordan, but he did a really stupid move when he turned towards Jordan and gave up a td and put himself on his back for the fall.
Wanzek almost blew his chances when he lost to Robertson, who he had beat easily in the dual. He had come in so confident after his big 13-10 win over #4 Zack Brunson a couple weeks ago, but then he got absolutely crushed in a 16-0 TF by Meyer (who later got pinned by Brunson!). After that, his confidence was lower than pond scum...thus his loss to Robertson. So he was fortunate that there were 9 automatic qualifiers at 174. Hopefully, he'll be able to forget about his screw-ups and get himself ready for nattys.
Where we did screw-up was with Kingsley. All he had to do was beat Ruschell, who he beat easily in the dual and he would have been in the 7th place match...and his weight qualified 7 automatically. Even if he had gotten 8th, he would be in a good position to get picked for an at-large bid. This was the worst match he's wrestled in the last two months. So, he's probably done.
And Brandon Krone lost a winnable match to Rhoads of IA that would have put him in the 7th place match. Same with Polakowski, although his was a little less winnable (but still possible) when he lost 4-1 to Jimenez of WI.
Some of these Gophers are rated #33 or higher in some unofficial ratings services, so maybe someone (besides Short) will still get in. At large bids are announced on March 9th.
Of the guys we will have at nattys, we have a good chance for 4 AAs, Short included, Wanzek not.
I'll do some detailed discussion on the Natty tournament as it gets closer. Like last year, ESPN3 will be broadcasting every match. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year and will be fun to watch!!
________________________________________________________________________________
(Posted earlier today 3-9-16)
The 49 at-large NCAA D1 qualifiers were announced late yesterday and at 149# Jake Short made the dance!! Here is an article from Intermat which lists the additional qualifiers:
At-large selections announced for NCAA Division I Championships
InterMat Staff
3/8/2016
The NCAA announced the 49 at-large selections for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships today.
125:
Dalton Macri (Cornell)
Sean McCabe (Rutgers)
Zeke Moisey (West Virginia)
David Terao (American)
Chasen Tolbert (Utah Valley)
133:
Josh Alber (Northern Iowa)
Rossi Bruno (Michigan)
Josh Martinez (Air Force)
Joey Palmer (Oregon State)
Caleb Richardson (Penn)
Zach Synon (Missouri)
141:
Logan Everett (Army West Point)
Jameson Oster (Northwestern)
Mike Pongracz (Chattanooga)
Tyler Smith (Bucknell)
149:
Steven Galiardo (Brown)
Alex Griffin (Purdue)
Coleman Hammond (CSU Bakersfield)
Alex Kocer (South Dakota State)
Jake Short (Minnesota)
Christopher Vassar (Gardner-Webb)
157:
Andrew Atkinson (Virginia)
Gregory Flournoy (George Mason)
Ian Miller (Kent State)
Aaron Walker (The Citadel)
165:
Tyler Buckwalter (Kent State)
Geno Morelli (Penn State)
Forrest Przybysz Appalachian State)
Patrick Rhoads (Iowa)
Mitchell Wightman (American)
174:
Te'Shan Campbell (Pittsburgh)
Casey Kent (Pennsylvania)
Sean Mappes (Chattanooga)
Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton)
184:
Abram Ayala (Princeton)
Kenny Courts (Ohio State)
Garet Krohn (Stanford)
John Lampe (Chattanooga)
Dane Pestano (Iowa State)
197:
Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield)
Chip Ness (North Carolina)
Jake Smith (West Virginia)
Michael Woulfe (Navy)
285:
Mauro Correnti (Rider)
Patrick Gillen (Virginia)
Joseph Goodhart (Drexel)
Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan)
Garrett Ryan (Columbia)
Sam Stoll (Iowa)
A second Intermat article discussed the best wrestlers who did not qualify for the Nattys...and they listed 133# Sam Brancale as one. Here is the section on Brancale from the article:
133: Sam Brancale (Minnesota)
Sam Brancale went 0-2 at the Big Tens and was eliminated by Purdue's Luke Welch (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)
"Brancale picked up some very impressive wins this season, but struggled mightily down the stretch, losing his last 10 matches of the season. He was winless in the conference and went 0-2 at the Big Ten Championships. So why is he even in the conversation for best staying home? Because of his wins prior to the start of the Big Ten dual meet season. In November, Brancale beat two-time All-American Mason Beckman of Lehigh and NCAA qualifier Gary Wayne Harding of Oklahoma State. In December, he pinned All-American Rossi Bruno of Michigan at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Then at the Southern Scuffle he dominated eventual SoCon champion Nathan Kraisser of Campbell. Brancale learned that it's not how you start the season that matters, but how you finish it."
Andrew Hipp (President/Owner of Intermat) wrote the article and his comments just show how far Sam fell in the last half of the year. It must be a confidence issue and it's too bad for Sam as I'm sure it's killing him that he's had such a weak finish to his year. These guys all work extremely hard so it's tough to watch when it doesn't quite work out. We'll have to see if some of the weaker Gopher wrestlers this year (SB, Kingsley, Krone, and C. Pfarr) remain in the lineup for next year. In most cases, I expect not. We will have plenty of time to discuss this in about 2 weeks after the season is over. This should be a more positive discussion, as our future next year will look quite a bit better!!
The brackets for the Natty tournament should be out soon...I'll post them as soon as they are available.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Here are brackets again, so you don't have to go back to the top:
http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/images/2016/03/09/2016d1wrestling.pdf
Some thoughts on how our 5 Gopher qualifiers early matches look (1st # before wrestler's name is Intermat ranking...# after name is NCAA ranking):
- 141 #8 Tommy Thorn (#11) has a tough road to hoe and it was made tougher by seeding of the selection committee. Thorn beat Anthony Ashenault (RU) (#4) convincingly in the dual and beat Matt Manley (MO) #5 twice in the Cliff Keen Invitational. Thorn should win his first match vs. Nicholas Gil (Navy 25-15), then he has a tough one vs. Micah Jordan (OSU) (#6), who he was ahead of in the 3rd period last weekend, before making a very stupid move, turning into Jordan, which led to him getting quickly pinned.
Thorn could certainly win this match...he had Jordan on his heels until the bad move. Tommy is a good rider, he gets out from bottom well, and he's a very good scrambler. But, unless he is confident and aggressive on his feet...on offense and defense (his biggest weakness), he will have a tough time with the elite wrestlers in this tourney. He is a confident wrestler who could be a 4x AA and could be a 1-2x natty champ, but it all depends on whether he's up for it, at this early age!!
If he loses to Jordan, not sure who he'll have next.
- 149 Of our 5 qualifiers, Jake Short (unranked) may have the toughest draw in his first match vs. #3 Alec Pantaleo (MI) #5. Pantaleo beat #4 Tsirtsis last weekend to take 3rd, and he is a very solid wrestler. Jake's weakest aspects are his offense on his feet and he doesn't ride very well. Having said this, if Short wrestles like he has lately, he can beat almost everyone. If he can get by Pantaleo, the rest of the bracket is tough (they're all tough...it's the nattys!!) until he gets Zain Retherford in the semis.
I think he's ready for the challenge so this should be fun to watch.
- 174 Like Short, Nick Wanzek also has a very difficult first round match vs #10 Myles Martin (OSU) #11. Martin took 3rd last weekend beating a talented Nate Jackson (IN)...and he looked really good!!! So, I think it's unlikely that Wanzek gets the win here, but who knows?? Will it be the NW that beat #4 Zach Brunson 13-10, or the NW that got Tech Falled 16-0 last weekend by Alex Meyer (IA) #13? Either way, I'm glad he's getting a chance to participate as a Sophomore, as this experience may help him in the future if the light bulb comes on and continues to shine brightly, without flickering so much.
Nick is still undersized at 174 and he needs to get better at a lot of things, but he has the foundation to be a 1-2x AA if he keeps improving.
- 197 Our stud and team leader #4 Brett Pfarr got a favorable #3 ranking from the NCAA even though he lost his last match to Burak (IA) #4. He has the best draw of our Gopher wrestlers as he gets Preston Weigel (OK State) in the 1st round, then Zack Nye (VA) #14 in the 2nd round, and because he's #3 instead of #4, Burak has to wrestle very tough Conor Hartmann (DU) #5, Pfarr gets Jared Haught (VT) #6, who he beat earlier this year.
Both McIntosh (PSU) #1 and J' Den Cox (MO) #2 have separated themselves by about 33-50% above Pfarr, Burak and Hartmann #s 3-5, because they are even more athletic and creative (Pfarr has lost to both by 1 point). But, both are still beatable. Pfarr is so very solid at this weight, in almost all positions, that he should take (most likely) 3rd or 4th when all is over...and he could win this is he was able to muster the right energy and moves at exactly the right time.
Like I alluded to earlier, Brett Pfarr has become a stud...and he is fun to watch!!!
- #8 285 Michael Kroells (#9) has a decent draw as he has Correnti (Rider) unranked 16-13, then he has Wessels (Lehigh) #8, who Kroells split matches with...winning the last one. In the quarters, he would have 2x natty champ Gwiazdowski (NC State) #1.
So this draw should set MK up nicely for a high AA finish!
The level of talent at this tournament is pretty unbelievable!! I follow the sport closely and it's amazing how many close matches of both highly skilled competitors turn on who wants it most and is willing to go for it 100% at exactly the right (crucial) moment. The one whose confidence in the ability to finish a move, and whose free will determination sets them above equal and even higher level opponents. And it's all there to be played out!!
So who wants its most?? Of our Gopher Wrestlers, I think we have three clear AAs (Pfarr, Kroells and Thorn), one slightly possible AA (Short), and one weak possibility (unless he's able to get and keep it in high gear) Wanzek. Pfarr is also a possible Champion (10-20%), and Thorn is also possible...but with his inexperience, he's a real longshot (10% or less). Still, he's in the conversation because he has the tools, but just hasn't learned to use them all yet.
As a team, we are used to being top #2-5...if we perform well we will be Top 8-12 (in other sports we would kill to be at this level!!) Don't worry, we are going to be as much as 50% better next year...so knowing that, watch the tournament and enjoy the great wrestling!!!
Here are the brackets, followed by the qualifier articles (comments at the end):
http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/images/2016/03/09/2016d1wrestling.pdf
Four Gophers Punch NCAA Tickets at Big Tens
Led by third-place performances from the team's captains -- Brett Pfarr and Michael Kroells -- a quartet of Minnesota grapplers secured their spots in the national tournament
Nick Wanzek secured his first career NCAA tournament berth with his finish at the Big Ten Championships.
GopherSports.com
March 6, 2016
Photo Gallery
Minnesota wrapped up the 2016 Big Ten Championships with four wrestlers earning automatic bids to the NCAA tournament in two weeks. As a team, the Gophers placed ninth with 51.5 points.
The Minnesota foursome guaranteed to be in the NCAA field includes three Gophers who wrestled for third place at their respective weights on Sunday -- Tommy Thorn, Brett Pfarr and Michael Kroells -- as well as 174-pounder Nick Wanzek, who finished ninth to capture the conference's last remaining automatic bid at his weight. In addition to the automatic qualifiers, Jake Short also placed, taking seventh at 149 pounds, but he will need an at-large selection to join his teammates at the national tournament.
After an overtime defeat in yesterday's semifinal, Pfarr rebounded with a pair of victories over top-ten opponents on Saturday to finish third, first over Max Huntley (Michigan), 8-3, and then Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 3-1. Pfarr did not allow a takedown to either of his opponents on Sunday. In both of his season as a full-time starter for the Gophers, Pfarr has placed in the top three at Big Tens, taking second last year at 184 pounds before his third-place finish at 197 this year.
Kroells came back from a heartbreaking loss that went through two overtime-and-tiebreaker sets in yesterday's semifinal to match Pfarr's team-best, third-place finish. Like Pfarr, Kroells was not taken down in either of his Sunday matches, defeating Brooks Black (Illinois), 1-0, before a rematch of his quarterfinal contest with Billy Smith (Rutgers). Just as they had earlier in the tournament, Kroells and Smith wrestled into tiebreakers, but a rideout for Kroells when he was on top and an escape and takedown from bottom gave him a 4-1 win. Kroells' third-place finish is two spots higher than his debut performance at Big Tens last season.
In his first career Big Ten tournament, Thorn put together a 3-1 showing on Saturday before advancing to the third-place match with an 11-6 win over Javier Gasca III (Michigan State) in a consolation semifinal Sunday afternoon. In the third-place contest, Thorn brought a 3-1 lead into the third period but a double-leg takedown from top seed Micah Jordan (Ohio State) put Thorn to his back, where he was pinned at 5:40. It was just the second loss by fall in Thorn's collegiate career. His fourth-place finish guarantees Thorn the opportunity to make his NCAA Championships debut later this month.
Wanzek clinched his first NCAA bid by winning a ninth-place match early Sunday afternoon over Mitch Sliga (Northwestern). The tournament typically does not feature ninth-place matches but with the NCAA awarding the Big Ten nine automatic bids to the NCAA Championships at 174 pounds, deciding ninth place became highly relevant. Wanzek earned the bid by defeating Sliga 8-3, his third win over the Wildcat this season.
Short was the only other Gopher in action on the tournament's final day. He defeated Cody Burcher (OSU), 4-2 to take seventh place at 149. Because the Big Ten was awarded just six automatic tournament berths at that weight, Short will have to be selected as an at-large participant to this year's field to make his first career NCAA tournament appearance. His resume for that spot includes five wins over NCAA qualifiers and a ranking that places him among the top-three at-large candidates at 149 (the NCAA will select five at-large competitors for the 149 bracket).
Full match-by-match results are listed below.
With the Big Ten Championships complete, only one event remains on the 2015-16 schedule -- the NCAA Championships. The pinnacle of the college wrestling season begins in two weeks, on Thursday, March 17, and runs for three days. For the first time ever, this year's event will be hosted at "The World's Most Famous Arena," Madison Square Gardens in New York City.
Match-by-Match Results
141 - Tommy Thorn
Cons Semis: Tommy Thorn dec Javier Gasca III (Michigan State), 11-6
3rd Place: Micah Jordan (Ohio State) fall (5:40) Tommy Thorn
149 - Jake Short
7th Place: Jake Short dec Cody Burcher (Ohio State), 4-2
174 - Nick Wanzek
Qualifier (9th place): Nick Wanzek dec Mitch Sliga (Northwestern), 8-3
197 - Brett Pfarr
Cons Semis: Brett Pfarr dec Max Huntley (Michigan), 8-3
3rd Place: Brett Pfarr dec Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 3-1
285 - Michael Kroells
Cons Semis: Michael Kroells dec Brooks Black (Illinois), 1-0
3rd Place: Michael Kroells dec (TB-1) Billy Smith (Rutgers), 4-1
So we have 4 automatic qualifiers to the Nattys and Short will also get an at-large slot. Of these 5 Natty participants...could they have done better?? Kroells was seeded 5th and he got 3rd, so he outperformed his level. Short was seeded 7th and took 7th. #2 Pfarr took 3rd, #2 Thorn took 4th, and #7 Wanzek took 9th. So, yes the last three could have done better, but they still did well, and I don't think it's worth being upset about. Tommy was winning vs. #1 Jordan, but he did a really stupid move when he turned towards Jordan and gave up a td and put himself on his back for the fall.
Wanzek almost blew his chances when he lost to Robertson, who he had beat easily in the dual. He had come in so confident after his big 13-10 win over #4 Zack Brunson a couple weeks ago, but then he got absolutely crushed in a 16-0 TF by Meyer (who later got pinned by Brunson!). After that, his confidence was lower than pond scum...thus his loss to Robertson. So he was fortunate that there were 9 automatic qualifiers at 174. Hopefully, he'll be able to forget about his screw-ups and get himself ready for nattys.
Where we did screw-up was with Kingsley. All he had to do was beat Ruschell, who he beat easily in the dual and he would have been in the 7th place match...and his weight qualified 7 automatically. Even if he had gotten 8th, he would be in a good position to get picked for an at-large bid. This was the worst match he's wrestled in the last two months. So, he's probably done.
And Brandon Krone lost a winnable match to Rhoads of IA that would have put him in the 7th place match. Same with Polakowski, although his was a little less winnable (but still possible) when he lost 4-1 to Jimenez of WI.
Some of these Gophers are rated #33 or higher in some unofficial ratings services, so maybe someone (besides Short) will still get in. At large bids are announced on March 9th.
Of the guys we will have at nattys, we have a good chance for 4 AAs, Short included, Wanzek not.
I'll do some detailed discussion on the Natty tournament as it gets closer. Like last year, ESPN3 will be broadcasting every match. It's one of my favorite weekends of the year and will be fun to watch!!
________________________________________________________________________________
(Posted earlier today 3-9-16)
The 49 at-large NCAA D1 qualifiers were announced late yesterday and at 149# Jake Short made the dance!! Here is an article from Intermat which lists the additional qualifiers:
At-large selections announced for NCAA Division I Championships
InterMat Staff
3/8/2016
The NCAA announced the 49 at-large selections for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships today.
125:
Dalton Macri (Cornell)
Sean McCabe (Rutgers)
Zeke Moisey (West Virginia)
David Terao (American)
Chasen Tolbert (Utah Valley)
133:
Josh Alber (Northern Iowa)
Rossi Bruno (Michigan)
Josh Martinez (Air Force)
Joey Palmer (Oregon State)
Caleb Richardson (Penn)
Zach Synon (Missouri)
141:
Logan Everett (Army West Point)
Jameson Oster (Northwestern)
Mike Pongracz (Chattanooga)
Tyler Smith (Bucknell)
149:
Steven Galiardo (Brown)
Alex Griffin (Purdue)
Coleman Hammond (CSU Bakersfield)
Alex Kocer (South Dakota State)
Jake Short (Minnesota)
Christopher Vassar (Gardner-Webb)
157:
Andrew Atkinson (Virginia)
Gregory Flournoy (George Mason)
Ian Miller (Kent State)
Aaron Walker (The Citadel)
165:
Tyler Buckwalter (Kent State)
Geno Morelli (Penn State)
Forrest Przybysz Appalachian State)
Patrick Rhoads (Iowa)
Mitchell Wightman (American)
174:
Te'Shan Campbell (Pittsburgh)
Casey Kent (Pennsylvania)
Sean Mappes (Chattanooga)
Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton)
184:
Abram Ayala (Princeton)
Kenny Courts (Ohio State)
Garet Krohn (Stanford)
John Lampe (Chattanooga)
Dane Pestano (Iowa State)
197:
Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield)
Chip Ness (North Carolina)
Jake Smith (West Virginia)
Michael Woulfe (Navy)
285:
Mauro Correnti (Rider)
Patrick Gillen (Virginia)
Joseph Goodhart (Drexel)
Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan)
Garrett Ryan (Columbia)
Sam Stoll (Iowa)
A second Intermat article discussed the best wrestlers who did not qualify for the Nattys...and they listed 133# Sam Brancale as one. Here is the section on Brancale from the article:
133: Sam Brancale (Minnesota)
Sam Brancale went 0-2 at the Big Tens and was eliminated by Purdue's Luke Welch (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)
"Brancale picked up some very impressive wins this season, but struggled mightily down the stretch, losing his last 10 matches of the season. He was winless in the conference and went 0-2 at the Big Ten Championships. So why is he even in the conversation for best staying home? Because of his wins prior to the start of the Big Ten dual meet season. In November, Brancale beat two-time All-American Mason Beckman of Lehigh and NCAA qualifier Gary Wayne Harding of Oklahoma State. In December, he pinned All-American Rossi Bruno of Michigan at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Then at the Southern Scuffle he dominated eventual SoCon champion Nathan Kraisser of Campbell. Brancale learned that it's not how you start the season that matters, but how you finish it."
Andrew Hipp (President/Owner of Intermat) wrote the article and his comments just show how far Sam fell in the last half of the year. It must be a confidence issue and it's too bad for Sam as I'm sure it's killing him that he's had such a weak finish to his year. These guys all work extremely hard so it's tough to watch when it doesn't quite work out. We'll have to see if some of the weaker Gopher wrestlers this year (SB, Kingsley, Krone, and C. Pfarr) remain in the lineup for next year. In most cases, I expect not. We will have plenty of time to discuss this in about 2 weeks after the season is over. This should be a more positive discussion, as our future next year will look quite a bit better!!
The brackets for the Natty tournament should be out soon...I'll post them as soon as they are available.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Here are brackets again, so you don't have to go back to the top:
http://i.turner.ncaa.com/sites/default/files/images/2016/03/09/2016d1wrestling.pdf
Some thoughts on how our 5 Gopher qualifiers early matches look (1st # before wrestler's name is Intermat ranking...# after name is NCAA ranking):
- 141 #8 Tommy Thorn (#11) has a tough road to hoe and it was made tougher by seeding of the selection committee. Thorn beat Anthony Ashenault (RU) (#4) convincingly in the dual and beat Matt Manley (MO) #5 twice in the Cliff Keen Invitational. Thorn should win his first match vs. Nicholas Gil (Navy 25-15), then he has a tough one vs. Micah Jordan (OSU) (#6), who he was ahead of in the 3rd period last weekend, before making a very stupid move, turning into Jordan, which led to him getting quickly pinned.
Thorn could certainly win this match...he had Jordan on his heels until the bad move. Tommy is a good rider, he gets out from bottom well, and he's a very good scrambler. But, unless he is confident and aggressive on his feet...on offense and defense (his biggest weakness), he will have a tough time with the elite wrestlers in this tourney. He is a confident wrestler who could be a 4x AA and could be a 1-2x natty champ, but it all depends on whether he's up for it, at this early age!!
If he loses to Jordan, not sure who he'll have next.
- 149 Of our 5 qualifiers, Jake Short (unranked) may have the toughest draw in his first match vs. #3 Alec Pantaleo (MI) #5. Pantaleo beat #4 Tsirtsis last weekend to take 3rd, and he is a very solid wrestler. Jake's weakest aspects are his offense on his feet and he doesn't ride very well. Having said this, if Short wrestles like he has lately, he can beat almost everyone. If he can get by Pantaleo, the rest of the bracket is tough (they're all tough...it's the nattys!!) until he gets Zain Retherford in the semis.
I think he's ready for the challenge so this should be fun to watch.
- 174 Like Short, Nick Wanzek also has a very difficult first round match vs #10 Myles Martin (OSU) #11. Martin took 3rd last weekend beating a talented Nate Jackson (IN)...and he looked really good!!! So, I think it's unlikely that Wanzek gets the win here, but who knows?? Will it be the NW that beat #4 Zach Brunson 13-10, or the NW that got Tech Falled 16-0 last weekend by Alex Meyer (IA) #13? Either way, I'm glad he's getting a chance to participate as a Sophomore, as this experience may help him in the future if the light bulb comes on and continues to shine brightly, without flickering so much.
Nick is still undersized at 174 and he needs to get better at a lot of things, but he has the foundation to be a 1-2x AA if he keeps improving.
- 197 Our stud and team leader #4 Brett Pfarr got a favorable #3 ranking from the NCAA even though he lost his last match to Burak (IA) #4. He has the best draw of our Gopher wrestlers as he gets Preston Weigel (OK State) in the 1st round, then Zack Nye (VA) #14 in the 2nd round, and because he's #3 instead of #4, Burak has to wrestle very tough Conor Hartmann (DU) #5, Pfarr gets Jared Haught (VT) #6, who he beat earlier this year.
Both McIntosh (PSU) #1 and J' Den Cox (MO) #2 have separated themselves by about 33-50% above Pfarr, Burak and Hartmann #s 3-5, because they are even more athletic and creative (Pfarr has lost to both by 1 point). But, both are still beatable. Pfarr is so very solid at this weight, in almost all positions, that he should take (most likely) 3rd or 4th when all is over...and he could win this is he was able to muster the right energy and moves at exactly the right time.
Like I alluded to earlier, Brett Pfarr has become a stud...and he is fun to watch!!!
- #8 285 Michael Kroells (#9) has a decent draw as he has Correnti (Rider) unranked 16-13, then he has Wessels (Lehigh) #8, who Kroells split matches with...winning the last one. In the quarters, he would have 2x natty champ Gwiazdowski (NC State) #1.
So this draw should set MK up nicely for a high AA finish!
The level of talent at this tournament is pretty unbelievable!! I follow the sport closely and it's amazing how many close matches of both highly skilled competitors turn on who wants it most and is willing to go for it 100% at exactly the right (crucial) moment. The one whose confidence in the ability to finish a move, and whose free will determination sets them above equal and even higher level opponents. And it's all there to be played out!!
So who wants its most?? Of our Gopher Wrestlers, I think we have three clear AAs (Pfarr, Kroells and Thorn), one slightly possible AA (Short), and one weak possibility (unless he's able to get and keep it in high gear) Wanzek. Pfarr is also a possible Champion (10-20%), and Thorn is also possible...but with his inexperience, he's a real longshot (10% or less). Still, he's in the conversation because he has the tools, but just hasn't learned to use them all yet.
As a team, we are used to being top #2-5...if we perform well we will be Top 8-12 (in other sports we would kill to be at this level!!) Don't worry, we are going to be as much as 50% better next year...so knowing that, watch the tournament and enjoy the great wrestling!!!