The Predicament.com-your ultimate Iowa wrestling source

BY MATT PFIFFNER
To say top-ranked Wartburg is the favorite to claim the NCAA Div. III National title this weekend in New Jersey is an understatement. To say the Knights are guaranteed that title would be a mistake.

Second-ranked Wisconsin-LaCrosse has one more National qualifier than Wartburg (10 to 9). The Eagles also return five NCAA place winners, including two-time defending heavyweight champ Ryan Allen.

That being said, it would still be considered an upset if the Knights are denied their fifth NCAA Championship in school history. After winning back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004, Wartburg was knocked off the top by Augsburg last season.

The Auggies bring in the third-ranked team and eight individuals to the NCAA's, but lost a lot of firepower off that team, including three-time NCAA undefeated champ Marcus LeVesseur, who is not wrestling this season.

Luther is ranked fourth and brought six qualifiers through the brutal Iowa Conference Tournament. No. 6 Loras has five qualifiers, while No. 13 Simpson, No. 14 Coe and No. 19 Buena Vista all bring three wrestlers into The College of New Jersey campus.

Unranked Cornell has a pair of NCAA qualifiers and the University of Dubuque has one.

Here is a brief weight-by-weight look at the tournament, including the qualifiers from Iowa colleges.

125
Iowa Qualifiers: Tyler Hubbard, Sr., Wartburg (16-0); Nate Hansen, Jr., Luther (20-11); Chris Heilman, So., Cornell (30-7); Terry Morgan, Sr., Loras (27-4).

A pair of returning third-place finishers from the Iowa Conference highlight this weight class. Hubbard brings the No. 1 ranking into this year's National Championships, after placing third at 133 a season ago. Morgan, ranked third, is the returning third-place finisher at 125.

Another wrestler with Iowa ties is wedged in between Hubbard and Morgan in the rankings. Former Des Moines Lincoln standout Brandon McDonough (42-1) is the second-ranked man at 125 for Johnson & Wales in his sophomore season.

Other returning All-Americans at this weight class are fifth-ranked Brian Dempsey of The College of New Jersey (5th at 125 last season) and No. 4 Ty Klofta of Ohio Northern (8th at 125).

133
Iowa Qualifiers: Jestin Hulegaard, Jr., Buena Vista (22-7); Mike Lopez, Sr., Luther (28-19); Zach McKray, Fr., Wartburg (32-4).

Lopez and Hulegaard both had fine NCAA Championship performances last season and are after more All-American honors, while McKray looks to make an impact at Nationals in his freshman season.

Don't let Lopez's 28-19 record fool you. The Norse grappler brings the No. 1 ranking into the tournament and is coming off a fourth-place finish at last season's NCAA Championships.

Seventh-ranked McKray finished second to Lopez at the Iowa Conference Tournament and has had an outstanding rookie campaign one year removed from his State title run at Iowa City High.

Hulegaard, ranked eighth, finished fifth at the NCAA's last season as a sophomore and looks to move up the award stand this weekend.
Along with Lopez and Hulegaard, other returning All-Americans at 133 are fourth-ranked Anthony D'Ambra of Brockport (2nd in 2005) and Sean Cullen of Lycoming (6th).

141
Iowa Qualifiers: Niles Mercer, So., Coe (21-12); Dave Paramski, Fr., Cornell (37-6); Dustin Brewer, Sr., Simpson (19-2); Dustin Hinschberger, Sr., Wartburg (37-5).

This weight class is all about Wartburg's top-ranked Hinschberger. It would probably be seen as the upset of the tournament if he doesn't win his third straight 141-pound crown to close out his brilliant career. Don't let the five losses on his record fool you, two of those are to Iowa State's top-ranked Nate Gallick, including one in overtime.

Simpson's Brewer, the returning fourth-place NCAA finisher, is seen as Hinschberger's biggest obstacle, and the Knight has handled Brewer so far this season.

Cornell's Paramski is ranked eighth entering his first NCAA Championships and will look to give the Rams an All-American finisher.

There are two other returning All-Americans at this weight class along with Hinschberger and Brewer. Third-ranked Mike Gaeta of Springfield was seventh last season at 141, while Mike Rohowetz moved up a weight after an eighth-place finish at 133 last season.

149
Iowa Qualifiers: Kyle Forness, Fr., Buena Vista (23-14); Jared Creason, Jr., Coe (30-8); Matt Pyle, Jr., Luther (23-6); Jacob Naig, Jr., Wartburg (31-5).

This should be a very interesting weight class to watch, especially from an Iowa perspective.

Pyle is ranked No. 1 and the defending NCAA Champion at this weight class, but he was recently defeated by No. 2 Naig in the Iowa Conference Tournament finals. Naig placed sixth in the NCAA's last season for the Knights.

Creason comes into the tournament ranked fifth and is one of the favorites to leave with a medal, while Forness has had some very good wins in his freshman season, including an upset of Naig in November.

There are four other returning All-Americans at this weight, other than Pyle and Naig. They are No. 3 Jason Roush of Mt. St. Joseph (3rd at 149), Jake Larsen of UW-LaCrosse (4th at 149), No. 4 Jared Evans of Augsburg (7th at 149) and No. 8 Carl Amerine of Wilmington (8th at 157).

157
Iowa Qualifiers: Brad Bishop, Sr., Loras (30-6); Nate VanDyke, Jr., Luther (15-10).

This is the lone weight class where you won't find a Wartburg wrestler. And with only two returning All-Americans, there appear to be plenty of medals up for grabs.

Sixth-ranked Bishop brings a sparkling record into his final NCAA Championships and hopes to go out on the medal stand for the Duhawks. VanDyke brings in a more modest record, but has survived the tough Iowa Conference Tournament to make it through.

The two returning All-Americans are top-ranked Joseph Galante (4th last season) and No. 5 Shaheem Bradshaw (5th a year ago).

165
Iowa Qualifiers: Cole Williams, Sr., Dubuque (44-7); Dustin Bliven, Sr., Wartburg (18-6).

Bliven has waited patiently for his chance at the NCAA Championships and now that time has arrived for the seventh-ranked Knight. He may not bring in All-American credentials with him, but the former Columbus Junction star is as dangerous as anyone at this weight class with his style and could go a long way in the tournament. Williams looks to wrap up his senior season with an appearance on the medal stand.

Returning All-Americans at 165 are top-ranked Derek Sikora of UW-Eau Claire (5th last season), No. 2 Ryan Valek of Augsburg (2nd) and No. 3 Corey Murphy of Thiel (8th).

174
Iowa Qualifiers: Ryan Hagerty, Sr., Loras (26-5); Cody Downing, Sr., Simpson (22-16); Scott Kauffman, Sr., Wartburg (22-1).

The second-ranked Kauffman is one of five All-Americans at this weight class. He placed fifth at 184 last season and has made a successful drop down in weight, with just the one loss on the season.

Two of the other returning All-Americans are also from other weight classes. No. 5 Jonathan Dolan was seventh at 165 a year ago and No. 8 Al Stacilauskas was seventh at 184.

Top-ranked Stephon Sair was fourth at 174 last season and No. 3 Josh Chelf was sixth at 174 a year ago.

184
Iowa Qualifiers: Mitch Hager, Sr., Loras (26-5); Akeem Carter, Sr., Wartburg (23-3).

Carter did something this season for the team you won't see too many people do. He left the weight class he dominated the past two seasons, 197, and dropped down to 184 so T.J. Miller could fit into the lineup at 197. All Carter did was claim NCAA Championships at 197 the past two seasons.

Now he enters his final NCAA Tournament ranked third and hopes to claim a third National title to close out his career.

It won't be easy, however, as defending 184-pound champ Duane Bastress of York enters the tournament a perfect 36-0. Jason Lulloff of UW-LaCrosse is the other wrestler ranked ahead of Carter at No. 2 in the nation.

Hager enters the tournament ranked eighth for Loras and will look to hopefully join Carter on the award stand.

Other returning NCAA All-Americans at this weight are No. 5 Brad Tupa of Augsburg (4th in 2005) and Michael Troutman of Ursinus (8th).

197
Iowa Qualifiers: Ben Strandberg, Sr., Buena Vista (18-9); Mike McCabe, Sr., Coe (15-4); Jason Figgins, So., Loras (24-9); Alec Bonander, Fr., Luther (18-6); T.J. Miller, Jr., Wartburg (29-2).

The Iowa Conference was absolutely loaded at this weight class this season and could be very well represented on the award stand Saturday night. There are five NCAA qualifiers for the league, including four individuals in the rankings.

Leading the way is top-ranked Miller of Wartburg. He has stepped in for two-time NCAA champ Akeem Carter, who dropped down a weight, and done a great job for the Knights and could very well give the school three straight 197-pound champs.

McCabe of Coe, ranked third in the nation behind Miller and returning NCAA runner-up Jamall Johnson of Delaware Valley, finished seventh at the NCAA's last season and will be a factor in the race to the individual title once again.
Strandberg is sixth in the final rankings, while Bonander is at No. 8 in his freshman season for the Norse.

Other returning All-Americans at 197 are Matthew Loesch of Muhlenberg (4th), Jim Swanson of UW-LaCrosse (5th) and No. 4 Devin Carman of Baldwin-Wallace (8th). Carman has not wrestled much this season, but does bring a perfect 9-0 mark into the tournament and will be someone to watch out for.

285
Iowa Qualifiers: John Miller, Fr., Luther (24-12); Brett Christensen, Sr., Simpson (34-5); Blake Gillis, Jr., Wartburg (30-3).

Top-ranked Gillis, a two-time runner-up at this weight class in his first two seasons a Wartburg, looks to break through and finish on top this season. He has defeated his nemesis, defending two-time NCAA champ Ryan Allen of UW-LaCrosse, on more than one occasion this season and appears to have figured out his main rival.

Expect these two big men to meet on Saturday night for the third time in their careers. If they do, it would be the fourth finals appearance for Allen and the third for Gillis. They have definitely owned this division the past few years.

Christensen placed sixth at the NCAA's last season and is looking to close out his outstanding career with another All-American effort. He may not quite be in the league of Gillis and Allen, but is right behind them and could finish as high as third for the Storm.

Seven of the eight All-American heavyweights from last season return., Along with Gillis, Allen and Christensen, you also have No. 3 and undefeated (30-0) Mike Blair of Trinity (3rd last season), Mike Hayes of UW-Stevens Point (5th), No. 5 Tom Snyder of Lycoming (7th) and No. 6 Pat Bennett of Brockport (8th).

If you like watching the big men battle, this will definitely be an outstanding weight class to watch.