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BY MATT PFIFFNER
For the second year in a row, the Savvis Center is host to the NCAA's. For more than the second year in a row, Oklahoma State and not a team from Iowa is considered the heavy favorite entering the tourney. Both Iowa and Iowa State would have to have near-perfect, if not perfect, weekends to knock off the defending champion Cowboys. The Hawkeyes and Cyclones have the firepower to finish with a trophy, but could also find themselves on the outside looking in Saturday night. There are several great teams a notch or two below Oklahoma State with Iowa and ISU. A finish in the Top 10 would be a great accomplishment for the Northern Iowa Panthers. All three teams were disappointed in their finish last season, even though Iowa finished second. ISU did not win a trophy when it had the chance and UNI failed to place in the Top 10. But last year is well behind these teams and their only concern now is a three-day stretch for all the marbles. If you're looking for possible individual NCAA champs from the state, ISU's Nate Gallick at 141 and Kurt Backes at 184 appear to be the best bets. Some of Iowa's wrestlers, namely freshman Mark Perry at 165 and junior All-American Paul Bradley at 184, have shown they can wrestle with anyone in the country. Now, they just have to do it when it counts the most. The Iowa schools have wrestlers who butt heads in the first round at two weights. Bradley should be able to take care of UNI's Alex Dolly without much trouble at 184. The in-state match-up at 165 is much more interesting. Nick Baima of UNI and No. 8 seed Travis Paulson of ISU have had some good battles in the past and this time should be no different. Paulson is the favorite to move on, but don't be shocked if Baima pulls this one off. Another first-round bout with a heavy Iowa flavor is at 133, where a pair of two-time State champs square off. Jesse Sundell of ISU, a four-timer at Ogden, faces No. 3 seed Mack Reiter of Minnesota, a four-timer at Don Bosco. The two met in a dual earlier this season and Sundell gave Reiter fits before the Gopher pulled away late in the match. The following is a brief weight-by-weight breakdown of the upcoming NCAA Div. I National Championships and a look at how the in-state wrestlers may fare. If a wrestler is seeded in the tournament, it is listed before his name.
NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships
125
Bracket Breakdown Helgeson (17-15) also draws a tough first-round foe. He faces No. 3 seed Kyle Ott of Illinois, who finished second at last year's NCAA Championships. The Panther has a funky style that can be tough to wrestle, but Ott is the clear favorite here.
133
Bracket Breakdown Sundell (13-12) has been more consistent this season for the Cyclones after struggling a great deal his first two seasons. He has a tough task in the first round, as he faces No. 3 seeded Reiter. They met in a dual in Ames earlier this season and Reiter walked away with a hard-fought 11-6 decision. Moyer, a two-time State champ at Oskaloosa, meets Josh Keefe of Terry Brands' Tennessee-Chattanooga in the opening round.
141
Bracket Breakdown Just possibly, Iowa freshman Tsirtsis (29-13) could be Gallick's quarterfinal foe. Tsirtsis is not seeded, but has forced overtime against Gallick twice this season and is capable of making it that far. If Tsirtsis gets past No. 9 seed Frank Edgar of Clarion in the first round, he could meet No. 8 seed Ron Tarquinio of Pittsburgh in the second round. Both are winnable matches for Tsirtsis, but he will have to be on the top of his game to get another crack at Gallick. Two very dangerous wrestlers to watch on that half of the bracket are No. 4 seed Cory Cooperman of Lehigh and No. 5 seed Andy Simmons of Michigan State. If Gallick reaches the semis, either one of these wrestlers would make for a very tough match. Ettelson joins Tsirtsis as a first-timer at the NCAA's. He meets sophomore Don Fisch of Rider in a winnable match for the Panther. If Ettelson, a four-time State champ from Hudson, gets through his opening bout, he would likely meet No. 3 seed Josh Churella of Michigan in the next match.
149
Bracket Breakdown Sitting right below Eustice's name in the bracket, but in the other quarter of the bottom half, is UNI's Harrison (27-8). The Panther senior has had an excellent final year in Cedar falls and looks to finish off his career with an All-American finish. The Panther already owns a 13-4 victory this season over his first round opponent, Tyde Prater of Virginia Tech. If Harrison takes care of the Hokie again, he should meet No. 10 seed Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan in the second round. The two wrestlers have split a pair of 3-2 decisions this season, so this would be the rubber match with a berth in the quarterfinals on the line. Eustice and Harrison both appear capable of making a legitimate run at the finals on their half of the bracket. The clear favorite, returning runner-up Zach Esposito of Oklahoma State, is on the top half. Phillip Simpson of Army is the No. 2 seed and Dustin Manotti of Cornell is seeded third. They are both excellent wrestlers, but not so far above Eustice and Harrison that an all-Iowa college semifinal isn't out of the question.
157
Bracket Breakdown Oddly enough, the other wrestler who beat Paulson this season, Kevin Ward of Oklahoma State at the recent Big 12 Championships, is Johnston's first-round foe. This is a dangerous draw for the Hawkeye, who like teammate Eustice, has now qualified for the NCAA's his first three seasons, but has yet to place. Johnston (29-9) has pinned Ward in the dual and smoked him 21-7 at the UNO Open, but you can bet Iowa fans will still be nervous watching this one. If Johnston takes care of business and advances, he would either meet No. 9 seed Derek Zinck of Lehigh or talented freshman C.P. Schlatter of Minnesota. Johnston holds a pair of 8-5 wins over Schlatter, but has not met Zinck this season. If Johnston reaches the quarters, top-seed Alex Tirapelle of Illinois is the likely opponent. Bitetto (17-10) is unseeded, but could have had a lot worse first-round draw. At least the Panther knows he has someone he can beat. Reed Carpenter of Virginia Tech dropped a 6-5 decision to Bitetto earlier in the season and the Panther will be looking for a similar result Thursday in St. Louis. If Bitetto can hand Carpenter a second loss, he would probably face No. 4 seed Muzaffar Abdurakmanov of American in the second round. Abdurakmanov appears to be someone very capable of winning the tournament. Of his three losses, two were by injury default at the Midlands. The other loss also came at the Midlands, 4-2 to Tirapelle.
165
Bracket Breakdown Perry (31-5) is also on the top half of the draw with Paulson and Baima, but in the other quarter. The freshman has had an incredible campaign, with his only losses to the No. 2 and 3 seeded wrestlers. Perry has not faced Letters this season, but may get a shot if he can reach the semifinals. Perry opens the tournament against senior Brody Barrios of Cal Poly. Perry has been in so many big tournaments throughout his career, you wouldn't expect the jitters to get to him in this first bout. If the Hawk can take care of Barrios, he would either meet Max Dean of Indiana, who Perry has two easy wins over this season, or Sherwood Fendryk of Sacred Heart. If Perry wrestles the way he is capable, his first big test may not come until the quarters, where No. 5 seed Tyron Woodley of Missouri could be waiting. Galloway, a three-time State champ between Waterloo East and Iowa City High, begins his tournament run against Justin Nestor of Pittsburgh in a pigtail bout. If Galloway is successful there, he would meet the tough Matt Palmer of Columbia in the first round.
174
Bracket Breakdown Passolano (16-8) has had a star-crossed career at Iowa State. The senior has some of the biggest wins of any Cyclone in the lineup over the past few seasons, but also has been under the knife several times of knee surgeries. It would be only fitting for this beat-up Cyclone to go out as an All-American, but nothing will be handed to him. Passolano's luck, or lack of it, seems to have continued, as he was drawn into one of the two pigtails at 174. That means another match for those beat up knees. The Cyclone faces Eric Ring of Edinboro in that pigtail bout. If Passolano can get through that, he would meet No. 5 seed Joe Mazzurco of Cornell. The two have not met this season, but Passolano has proven he can go head-to-head against the best in the nation and don't be shocked if the Cyclone gets past this match.
184
Bracket Breakdown Bradley (25-9), the fourth-place finisher at this weight last season, has been up and down all season. He has looked like a sure-bet for a Top 3 National finish at times, including the two wins over Backes, but has looked like someone who won't make it out of the first round at other times. He should be able to take care of UNI's Dolly in the first round. Bradley pounded out a 16-6 victory over the Panther in the dual meet. The winner of that bout would face a tough second-round opponent in either No. 9 seed Shane Webster of Oregon, who Iowa fans remember taking out Tyler Nixt a couple of years ago at the NCAA's, or Matt Pell of Missouri. Waiting for the winner of that foursome in the quarterfinal is likely returning NCAA champ Greg Jones of West Virginia. Bradley dropped a one-point decision to the Mountaineer at an All-Star meet at the beginning of the season and would love another shot at him.
197
Bracket Breakdown
285
Bracket Breakdown Fields (31-11) looked like he would be battling right up there with the big boys for the title through the first month of the season, but the long grind of the season as a true freshman heavyweight appears to have paid a price. Fields has several quality wins this season, but many of them came early. He will take on Courtney Howard of Boston in a very winnable first-round bout. In the second round, Fields would probably face No. 8 seed Tanner Garrett of Navy. If Fields reaches the quarters, he would be facing former Hawkeye and top-ranked Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State, barring a major upset. Coleman (19-7) appears to have a much better draw than Fields, if only for the fact that he is on the other side from Mocco. After losing in the first round of the NCAA's last season, the Cyclone earned All-American honors with an eighth-place finish,. But he has struggled through an up and down senior campaign. Coleman takes on Eric Smith of Boise State in the first round. If he doesn't have another slow start out of the gates, which has been Coleman's trouble in big tournaments before, he should advance and take on either No. 7 seed Bill Stouffer of Central Michigan or Ty Watterson of Oregon State in the second round. Waiting for the winner of that foursome in the quarterfinals is likely No. 2 seed Cole Konrad of Minnesota. Konrad pinned Coleman at the NCAA's last season, but only claimed a 4-3 tiebreaker decision over the Cyclone this year.
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