Rudick wins NCAA Championships journalists picks contest for second straight year, with four tied in second
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by Viviane Fracasso and Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Panoramic view of the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships finals in Cleveland by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors
Bill Rudick, a journalist for the 21st Century Media and the media director for the PAWF (USA Wrestling’s state association), won the 2018 NCAA Championships journalist picks contest, hosted annually by TheMat.com. This is the second straight year that Rudick has submitted the best prediction among wrestling journalists.
Rudick scored 37 points by correctly selecting eight champions, five second-place finishers, and three finalists in the wrong position. Rudick had the most champion selections with eight.
Four journalists placed in second with 36 points: Viviane Fracasso (USA Wrestling), Christian Pyles (FloWrestling), Earl Smith (D1CollegeWrestling),and Jim Thrall (Wrestling Insider/Wrestlers Only).
Fracasso and Pyles had the most runners-up picks with seven.
Participants received three points for every champion, two points for every runner-up, and one point for a finalist in the wrong placement. The top five teams were used as tiebreaker. Participants received points for each correct placement (5-4-3-2-1).
No journalists correctly chose the top five teams in order, which was the tiebreaker which was not needed this year. Nobody predicted a tie for fourth place between Michigan and NC State. The journalist with the best predictions for the team order was Cameron Drury of IndianaMat.com, who had the top four teams correct (1. Penn State, 2. Ohio State, 3. Iowa, 4. Michigan). Only one journalist had all five of the top five teams on their card, but it was in the incorrect order, Andrew Hipps of Intermat.
Only one journalist had the correct 197-pound champion. Michael Macchiavello of NC State, and that was Taylor Miller of USA Wrestling. She also had the correct runner-up in that weight class, Jared Haught of Virginia Tech. Andrew Hipps had both 197 finalists on his card, but in the wrong order.
Only three journalists selected Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State as the 165-pound champion, Ray Shoaf of WrestlingTexas, Justin Basch of Basch Solutions and Brad Wilson of Lehigh Valley Live. There were two true freshmen national champions, which most did not select as winners. However, 14 journalists did select Spencer Lee of Iowa as the 125-pound champion and 15 selected Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell as the 141-pound champion.
A total of 38 journalists submitted their predictions this year, one of the strongest turnouts in history. Those on the USA Wrestling media lists were offered an opportunity to give their selections.
Click here to see the journalist predictions for 2018 NCAAs
2018 NCAA DIV. I WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Final Journalist Point Standings
37- Bill Rudick (21st Century Media/USA PAWF Media Director)
36 – Viviane Fracasso (USA Wrestling), Christian Pyles (FloWrestling), Earl Smith (D1CollegeWrestling), Jim Thrall (Wrestling Insider/Wrestlers Only)
34 – Justin Basch (Basch Solutions), Dan Fickel (Wrestling USA Magazine), Alex Steen (The Open Mat)
33 – Andy Ross (49 North Wrestling), Brad Wilson (Lehigh Valley Live)
32 – Tony Hager (The Open Mat), Mark Ironside (KXIC Radio), Jonny Rugiano (Titan Mercury WC), G. Wyatt Schultz (The Predicament), Larry Slater (Slater Photography)
31 – Cameron Drury (IndianaMat.com), Jamie Moffatt (Wrestling Historian), Taylor Miller (USA Wrestling)
30 – Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling), Andrew Hipps (InterMat), Lars Underbaake (IAWrestle.com), Michael Willis (USA Wrestling)
29 – Jason Bryant (Mat Talk Online), Ken Chertow (KenChertow.com),
28 – K.J. Pilcher (The Gazette), Craig Sesker (InterMat), Ray Shoaf (WrestlingTexas),
27 – Mark Beshey (The Guillotine), Tom Franck (Intermat), Matt Levins (The Hawk Eye Newspaper)
26 - Mark Lundy (LutteLens)
25 – Mike Finn (WIN Magazine)
24 - Tommy Baranoski (Bloodround)
23 – Jeff Beshey (The Guillotine)
22 – Stephen Stonebreaker (Takedown Wrestling), Richard Immel, Jim Thompson (The Predicament)
21 – Jim Kalin (Amateur Wrestling News)
Bill Rudick, a journalist for the 21st Century Media and the media director for the PAWF (USA Wrestling’s state association), won the 2018 NCAA Championships journalist picks contest, hosted annually by TheMat.com. This is the second straight year that Rudick has submitted the best prediction among wrestling journalists.
Rudick scored 37 points by correctly selecting eight champions, five second-place finishers, and three finalists in the wrong position. Rudick had the most champion selections with eight.
Four journalists placed in second with 36 points: Viviane Fracasso (USA Wrestling), Christian Pyles (FloWrestling), Earl Smith (D1CollegeWrestling),and Jim Thrall (Wrestling Insider/Wrestlers Only).
Fracasso and Pyles had the most runners-up picks with seven.
Participants received three points for every champion, two points for every runner-up, and one point for a finalist in the wrong placement. The top five teams were used as tiebreaker. Participants received points for each correct placement (5-4-3-2-1).
No journalists correctly chose the top five teams in order, which was the tiebreaker which was not needed this year. Nobody predicted a tie for fourth place between Michigan and NC State. The journalist with the best predictions for the team order was Cameron Drury of IndianaMat.com, who had the top four teams correct (1. Penn State, 2. Ohio State, 3. Iowa, 4. Michigan). Only one journalist had all five of the top five teams on their card, but it was in the incorrect order, Andrew Hipps of Intermat.
Only one journalist had the correct 197-pound champion. Michael Macchiavello of NC State, and that was Taylor Miller of USA Wrestling. She also had the correct runner-up in that weight class, Jared Haught of Virginia Tech. Andrew Hipps had both 197 finalists on his card, but in the wrong order.
Only three journalists selected Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State as the 165-pound champion, Ray Shoaf of WrestlingTexas, Justin Basch of Basch Solutions and Brad Wilson of Lehigh Valley Live. There were two true freshmen national champions, which most did not select as winners. However, 14 journalists did select Spencer Lee of Iowa as the 125-pound champion and 15 selected Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell as the 141-pound champion.
A total of 38 journalists submitted their predictions this year, one of the strongest turnouts in history. Those on the USA Wrestling media lists were offered an opportunity to give their selections.
Click here to see the journalist predictions for 2018 NCAAs
2018 NCAA DIV. I WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Final Journalist Point Standings
37- Bill Rudick (21st Century Media/USA PAWF Media Director)
36 – Viviane Fracasso (USA Wrestling), Christian Pyles (FloWrestling), Earl Smith (D1CollegeWrestling), Jim Thrall (Wrestling Insider/Wrestlers Only)
34 – Justin Basch (Basch Solutions), Dan Fickel (Wrestling USA Magazine), Alex Steen (The Open Mat)
33 – Andy Ross (49 North Wrestling), Brad Wilson (Lehigh Valley Live)
32 – Tony Hager (The Open Mat), Mark Ironside (KXIC Radio), Jonny Rugiano (Titan Mercury WC), G. Wyatt Schultz (The Predicament), Larry Slater (Slater Photography)
31 – Cameron Drury (IndianaMat.com), Jamie Moffatt (Wrestling Historian), Taylor Miller (USA Wrestling)
30 – Gary Abbott (USA Wrestling), Andrew Hipps (InterMat), Lars Underbaake (IAWrestle.com), Michael Willis (USA Wrestling)
29 – Jason Bryant (Mat Talk Online), Ken Chertow (KenChertow.com),
28 – K.J. Pilcher (The Gazette), Craig Sesker (InterMat), Ray Shoaf (WrestlingTexas),
27 – Mark Beshey (The Guillotine), Tom Franck (Intermat), Matt Levins (The Hawk Eye Newspaper)
26 - Mark Lundy (LutteLens)
25 – Mike Finn (WIN Magazine)
24 - Tommy Baranoski (Bloodround)
23 – Jeff Beshey (The Guillotine)
22 – Stephen Stonebreaker (Takedown Wrestling), Richard Immel, Jim Thompson (The Predicament)
21 – Jim Kalin (Amateur Wrestling News)
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