It’s that time of year again, Penn State wrestling fans. Let’s see how well I can do with my predictions for Big Ten wrestling champions.
Here we go:
125
Matt Ramos, Purdue: It wouldn’t be all that surprising if Iowa’s Drake Ayala had something to say about this. After all, Ramos and Ayala are Nos. 1 and 2 in the InterMat rankings. I’m going to give the edge to Ramos.
133
Dylan Ragusin, Michigan: I know Penn State wrestling fans are hoping Aaron Nagao will make a run from the fifth seed to the title, but he’s struggled a little more than I thought he would this season. It’s still possible any of the top-5 seeds could win. I’ll go with Ragusin by default as the top seed.
141
Real Woods, Iowa: It’s probably the first one that PSU fans won’t like because I’m not picking Beau Bartlett, but Woods has the most talent out of everyone in the 141-pound weight class. It probably should be Bartlett and Woods in the finals.
149
Ridge Lovett, Nebraska: Michigan’s Austin Gomez looked like an upset candidate over Lovett, but Lovett beat Gomez in the dual meet, 11-4. It’s hard to go against Lovett with that score.
157
Levi Haines, Penn State: My first champion for PSU sounds like a no-brainer, but it would be interesting to see a matchup between Haines and Minnesota’s Michael Blockhus. It would be nice to see a Penn State-Minnesota dual meet again.
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Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State: I’ve thought all season that Mesenbrink isn’t ranked high enough. He’s up to No. 5 in the InterMat rankings, and I’m not sure that’s high enough, either. Wisconsin’s Dean Hamiti will present his biggest challenge of the season in the Big Ten finals.
174
Shane Griffith, Michigan: How are you supposed to pick this bracket? If we knew Carter Starocci was 100 percent healthy, he would be a slam dunk pick. But we don’t know that for sure, and there’s always the possibility Starocci could forfeit a match or two once he’s qualified for nationals. Since that’s the case, I’ll go with Griffith.
184
Lenny Pinto, Nebraska: There’s quite a bit of talent in this bracket. Pinto has been impressive all season, but Minnesota’s Isaiah Salazar and PSU’s Bernie Truax could both make a run at the title.
197
Aaron Brooks, Penn State: This is the pick that I’m most confident in. Brooks has been locked in all season, and I don’t think anyone else is going to make it close with him.
285
Greg Kerkvliet, Penn State: I kind of feel the same way about Kerkvliet as I do about Brooks. It’s his bracket for the first time, especially now that Gable Steveson is no longer part of the equation.
Team champion – Penn State: The question here should be how many points will the margin be from second place. The over/under is set at 45.5 points.
