I’ve always posted my picks as part of TheMat.com’s Journalist predictions panel. Most of the time, I’m coming in the middle of the pack or slightly above. I do have to concede Ben Hupke beat Jim Nelson and I in picking champions correctly at the Division III championships, but you can never pick that one even remotely close.
I spent considerable time during the breaks at the Division III championships filling out my bracket for Division I. I still need to figure out my team scoring, but since I’m in Minneapolis delayed while starting to write this, here are the picks. I’m putting them out there and no longer being a bit guarded about them.
I don’t think I’ve ever picked first in a champions contest, but I know in large, my All-American selections are roughly 65-70 percent since 2005. I don’t have concrete numbers on that, but again, I’ve never won a contest with friends, fans or even people in my own office.
I’ve found the best way to make picks is with a gut feeling and don’t spend time analyzing. Some of these picks I just looked at and went with. Some are hunches, some are based on the fact I see some matchup and wrestling styles being favorable for a lesser ranked or unseeded opponent.
It’s never personal. And I might only have one homer pick in the bunch this year. Last time I wasn’t at least a scant bit favorable towards my alma mater, Ryan Williams made the finals. Matt Storniolo hasn’t let me live it down, yet, either.
Teamwise, the placement points alone put Penn State in the driver’s seat, with actually some wiggle room. Iowa and Minnesota are separated by just one point with how I scored this (not counting bonus — 16-12-10-9-7-6-4-3 and 1 additional point for reaching the round of 12).
NOTE: I am completely entitled to half of the winnings of any picks contest you enter using these as a guide, HOWEVER I am not responsible for any repayment of monies, pride, beers, meals or any other piece of property used in picks contests.
Should be a great event again.
125 pounds
1. #1 Matt McDonough (Iowa)
2. #2 Zach Sanders (Minnesota)
3. #7 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma)
4. #8 Ryan Mango (Stanford)
5. #3 Alan Waters (Missouri)
6. #5 Nic Bedelyon (Kent State)
7. #4 Jesse Delgado (Illinois)
8. #6 Frank Perrelli (Cornell)
Semifinals
McDonough vs. Bedelylon
Sanders vs. Waters
Round of 12
Perrelli vs. #12 Steve Bonanno (Hofstra)
Patterson vs. #9 Levi Mele (Northwestern)
Mango vs. #10 Nico Megaludis (Penn State)
Delgado vs. Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State)
Best shot for an upset: Michael Martinez (Wyoming), Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State)
Favorite first-round match: Ryan Mango (Stanford) vs. Shane Young (West Virginia)
133 pounds
1. #1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State)
2. #2 Logan Stieber (Ohio State)
3. #3 Tony Ramos (Iowa)
4. #4 B.J. Futrell (Illinois)
5. #6 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech)
6. #5 Joe Colon (Northern Iowa)
7. #10 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota)
8. #9 Cashe Quiroga (Purdue)
Semifinals
Oliver vs. Futrell
Stieber vs. Ramos
Round of 12
Carter vs. #12 Bryan Ortenzio (Penn)
Dardanes vs. #11 Steven Keith (Harvard)
Quiroga vs. #6 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro)
Colon vs. Jordan Keller (Oklahoma)
Best shot for an upset: Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland)
Favorite first-round match: B.J. Futrell (Illinois) vs. Nick Soto (Chattanooga)
141 pounds
1. #1 Kellen Russell (Michigan)
2. #3 Montell Marion (Iowa)
3. #6 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly)
4. #4 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State)
5. #2 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma)
6. #5 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State)
7. #9 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota)
8. #7 Nick Nelson (Virginia)
Semifinals
Russell vs. Stieber
Marion vs. Maple
Round of 12
Novachkov vs. #12 Tyler Small (Kent State)
Nelson vs. Zack Kemmerer (Penn)
Dardanes vs. Mike Nevinger (Cornell)
Mangrum vs. #8 Darius Little (N.C. State)
Best shot for an upset: Luke Goettl (Iowa State), Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State)
Favorite first-round match: Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech) vs. Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska)
149 pounds
1. #1 Frank Molinaro (Penn State)
2. #2 Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State)
3. #8 Eric Grajales (Michigan)
4. #4 Donnie Vinson (Binghamton)
5. #7 Dylan Ness (Minnesota)
6. #3 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force)
7. Justin Accordino (Hofstra)
8. #6 Tyler Nauman (Pittsburgh)
Semifinals
Molinaro vs. VInson
Parks vs. VonOhlen
Round of 12
Nauman vs. Eric Terrazas (Illinois)
Ness vs. #9 David Habat (Edinboro)
Grajales vs. Josh Wilson (Utah Valley)
Accordino vs. Chris Villalonga (Cornell)
Best shot for an upset: Eric Terrazas (Illinois), Justin Accordino (Hofstra)
Favorite first-round match: Corey Jantzen (Harvard) vs. Cam Tessari (Ohio State)
157 pounds
1. #1 Kyle Dake (Cornell)
2. #3 Jason Welch (Northwestern)
3. #5 Ganbayar Sanjaa (American)
4. #2 Derek St. John (Iowa)
5. #6 James Fleming (Clarion)
6. #9 Justin Lister (Binghamton)
7. #4 Walter Peppelman (Harvard)
8. #7 Dylan Alton (Penn State)
Semifinals
Dake vs. Sanjaa
Welch vs. St. John
Round of 12
Fleming vs. #12 Steven Monk (North Dakota State)
Alton vs. George Ivanov (Boise State)
Lister vs. R.J. Pena (Oregon State)
Peppelman vs. John Nicholson (Old Dominion)
Best shot for an upset: David Bonin (Northern Iowa), Albert White (Oklahoma State)
Favorite first-round match: Kyle John (Maryland) vs. Daniel Kolodzik (Princeton)
165 pounds
1. #1 David Taylor (Penn State)
2. #7 Josh Asper (Maryland)
3. #2 Shane Onufer (Wyoming)
4. #6 Peter Yates (Virginia Tech)
5. #4 Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (Clarion)
6. #5 Mike Evans (Iowa)
7. #3 Andrew Sorenson (Iowa State)
8. Gabe Burak (Northern Colorado)
Semifinals
Taylor vs. Evans
Asper vs. Yates
Round of 12
Sorenson vs. Nick Sulzer (Virginia)
Onufer vs. Joe Booth (Drexel)
Abdurakhmanov vs. #8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska)
Burak vs. Zach Toal (Missouri)
Best shot for an upset: Bubby Graham (Oklahoma), Gabe Burak (Northern Colorado)
Favorite first-round match: Kyle Blevins (Appalachian State) vs. Mike Evans (Iowa)
174 pounds
1. #1 Ed Ruth (Penn State)
2. #2 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State)
3. #3 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford)
4. #4 Logan Storley (Minnesota)
5. #5 Ethan Lofthouse (Iowa)
6. #10 Te Edwards (Old Dominion)
7. #7 Jordan Blanton (Illinois)
8. Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel)
Round of 12
Blanton vs. Greg Zannetti (Rutgers)
Edwards vs. Dorian Henderson (Missouri)
Luvsandorj vs. #9 Nick Helfin (Ohio State)
Lofthouse vs. #6 Ryan DesRoches (Cal Poly)
Best shot for an upset: Ethan Headlee (Pittsburgh), Greg Zannetti (Rutgers)
Favorite first-round match: Jordan Blanton (Illinois) vs. Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel)
184 pounds
1. #6 Quentin Wright (Penn State)
2. #1 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming)
3. #2 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh)
4. #3 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan)
5. #5 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota)
6. #4 Steve Bosak (Cornell)
7. #8 Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa)
8. #7 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska)
Semifinals
LeBlanc vs. Steinhaus
Wright vs. Hamlin
Round of 12
Bennett vs. #12 John Fausey (Virginia)
Ihnen vs. Mac Stoll (North Dakota State)
Loder vs. Tony Dallago (Illinois)
Bosak vs. Grant Gambrall (Iowa)
Best shot for an upset: Mac Stoll (North Dakota State), Grant Gambrall (Iowa)
Favorite first-round match: Tony Dallago (Illinois) vs. Luke Rebertus (Navy)
197 pounds
1. #2 Chris Honeycutt (Edinboro)
2. #1 Cam Simaz (Cornell)
3. #5 Cayle Byers (Oklahoma State)
4. #6 Brent Haynes (Missouri)
5. #10 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota)
6. #8 Matt Powless (Indiana)
7. #11 Micah Burak (Penn)
8. #12 Joe Kennedy (Lehigh)
Semifinals
Simaz vs. Byers
Honeycutt vs. Haynes
Round of 12
Kennedy vs. #3 Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh)
Yohn vs. #9 Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming)
Powless vs. Brent Chriswell (Boise State)
Burak vs. #4 Christian Boley (Maryland)
Best shot for an upset: Brent Chriswell (Boise State), Bagna Tovuujav (George Mason)
Favorite first-round match: Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) vs. Dan Mitchell (American)
285 pounds
1. #4 Zach Rey (Lehigh)
2. #2 Tony Nelson (Minnesota)
3. #1 Ryan Flores (American)
4. #3 Clayton Jack (Oregon State)
5. #6 Cameron Wade (Penn State)
6. #11 Tucker Lane (Nebraska)
7. #8 Spencer Myers (Maryland)
8. #7 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio)
Semifinals
Rey vs. Flores
Nelson vs. Jack
Round of 12
Wade vs. #5 Bobby Telford (Iowa)
Johnson vs. #9 Levi Cooper (Arizona State)
Myers vs. Peter Sturgeon (Central Michigan)
Lane vs. #12 Matt Gibson (Iowa State)
Best shot for an upset: Odie Delaney (The Citadel), Brendan Barlow (Kent State)
Favorite first-round match: Kevin Innis (Boston U.) vs. P.J. Tasser (Pittsburgh)
Team Placement (All-Americans, Champions)
1. Penn State (6, 4)
2. Minnesota (8, 0)
3. Iowa (6, 1)
4. Oklahoma State (4, 1)
5. Cornell (4, 1)
