The brackets for the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships were released on Wednesday evening, and the Big Ten champion Buckeyes have reason to feel optimistic about their chances when the tournament starts next Thursday.
125
Jose Rodriguez earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by placing seventh at the Big Ten tournament in the 125 lb bracket.
Rodriguez will face the No. 11 seed Josh Terao of American University on Thursday. Terao enters with a record of 28-5 on the season, while Rodriguez earned a record of 15-10 in his redshirt freshman season. Iowa's Thomas Gilman is the No. 1 seed at 125 while Virginia Tech's Joey Dance is the No. 2 seed.
133
Nathan Tomasello earned the No. 1 seed at 133, winning his third Big Ten title on the way to an undefeated regular season.
Tomasello will face Edinboro's Korbin Myers in the first round before a possible second round battle with No. 16 Kevin Devoy of Drexel. South Dakota State's Seth Gross earned the No. 2 seed with a record of 30-1. Tomasello could meet Illinois' No. 8 Zane Richards in the quarterfinals and Iowa's No. 4 Cory Clark in the semifinals if all three avoid upsets.
141
True freshman Luke Pletcher finished fourth in his first Big Ten tournament and managed the No. 12 seed at the NCAA tournament. Pletcher will face Michigan's Salvator Profaci in the first round before a likely match-up against two-time Big Ten champ Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers. Dean Heil of Oklahoma State (and a graduate of St. Edward High School in Lakewood) earned the No. 1 seed and will look to remain perfect on the season. Kevin Jack of North Carolina State will wrestle as the No. 2 seed at 141.
149
Micah Jordan took second place at the Big Ten tournament, a feat that earned him the No. 4 seed at the NCAA tournament. The Buckeye sophomore will face North Carolina's Troy Heilmann in the opening round. Jordan could have a rematch with Iowa's No. 5 Brandon Sorensen in the quarterfinals on Friday morning should both win their first two matches. Penn State's Zain Retherford is undefeated, so it is no surprise that he earned the No. 1 seed at 149. Oklahoma State's Anthony Collica (a native of Solon, Ohio) earned the No. 2 seed with a record of 20-2.
157
Jake Ryan fell short of earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and did not receive an at-large bid, so the Buckeyes will not have a representative at 157 this year.
Penn State's Jason Nolf earned the No. 1 seed, while Iowa's Michael Kemerer will be the No. 2 seed.
165
Cody Burcher was unable to earn an automatic bid to the tournament, but he earned an at-large bid based on his body of work in the regular season.
Burcher will compete in his first NCAA tournament, and will have a rematch against Arizona State's Anthony Valencia, who had a record of 32-5 and earned the No. 7 seed at 165. Illinois' junior Isaiah Martinez will seek his third NCAA title and earned the No. 1 seed at 165 after a perfect 27-0 season. Michigan's Logan Massa earned the No. 2 seed at 165 with a 27-2 record, with each of his losses coming to Martinez.
174
After suffering just one loss in an injury-plagued season, Bo Jordan earned the No. 3 seed at 174 after earning third place finishes at 165 in each of the previous two seasons. Jordan will start his tournament against Harvard's Josef Johnson on the Thursday of the tournament. Arizona State's freshman Zahid Valencia earned the top seed at 174 after a 33-0 regular season, while Cornell's Brian Realbuto earned the No. 2 seed after losing only to Valencia and handing Bo Jordan his only loss of the season.
184
Myles Martin won the NCAA title as a true freshman last year at 174, but will face a tall task if he is going to win as a sophomore as Cornell's Gabe Dean is seeking his third straight NCAA title. Martin earned the No. 6 seed after finishing runner-up in the Big Ten tournament and will start his tournament against Bucknell's Garrett Hoffman. Martin could avenge his loss from the Big Ten finals in the NCAA quarterfinals where he could meet Iowa's No. 3 Sammy Brooks. The aforementioned Dean went 30-0 this season and earned the No. 1 seed, while Penn State's Bo Nickal earned the No. 2 seed at 184 with a record of 21-1.
197
After a huge Big Ten tournament where he finished as the champion, freshman Kollin Moore earned the No. 3 seed at 197. Moore will face NC State's Malik McDonald in the first round and could possibly meet No. 6 Preston Weigel of Oklahoma State with serious team points on the line in the quarterfinals on Friday. Olympic bronze medalist J'Den Cox will chase his third NCAA title after earning the No. 1 seed with a perfect 23-0 season to date. Minnesota's Brett Pfarr defeated Moore twice in the season before losing to Moore in the Big Ten finals, so he earned the No. 2 seed at 197.
HWT
Believe it or not, Kyle Snyder earned the top seed at heavyweight after a perfect regular season, and he will meed Buffalo's Jake Gunning in the opening round. If both advance to the semifinals, Snyder could meet Lexington, Ohio native Jacob Kasper of Duke, who expressed his desire to try and knock off the Olympic champ earlier this year. Kasper earned the No. 4 seed at heavyweight. Connor Medbery of Wisconsin will be opposite Snyder in the bracket as the No. 2 seed at heavyweight. Snyder is also in the same half of the bracket as Big Ten foes Michael Kroells, Nick Nevills, and Collin Jensen. Former Buckeye heavyweight Thomas Haines is making the most of his time after transferring to Lock Haven and earned the No. 14 seed with a record of 31-5.
