Missouri seeks to win eighth straight MAC title, against a balanced and expanded field of 15 teams
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Photo of Central Michigan’s No. 1 seed Drew Hildebrandt (125), one of three CMU No. 1 pre-seeds for the MAC Tournament, courtesy of CMUChippewas.com
MAC Tournament pre-seeds
National power Missouri seeks its eighth straight MAC title, in the first year of an expanded conference, when the 15-team Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships is held at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., March 7-8.
This season, the eight team MAC wrestling conference added in seven new teams, all which previously competed in the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL). This makes the MAC the second-largest Div. I college wrestling conference in terms of teams, behind only the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA).
With the expansion of the conference comes 41 automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis. Only the Big Ten, Big 12 and the EIWA have more automatic berths.
There have been some recent years that Missouri has dominated the action at the MAC Championships, but that may not be the case this season. No. 23 Mizzou is the only MAC team in final NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll, which is based upon dual meets (both Rider and Northern Illinois got votes). However, in the Trackwrestling NCAA Tournament rankings, Central Michigan is highest among MAC schools at a tie for No. 22, followed by No. 25 Missouri and then Rider in a tie for No. 27.
Mizzou has an eight-year conference title streak, started with a Big 12 title in their final year in that conference. Could this be the year somebody stops the Missouri conference championship streak? Could there be a formula that stops this runaway train? You can be sure that Coach Brian Smith’s Tigers will be ready to battle. Until somebody beats the champion, respect the champion.
Missouri comes in hot, winning six of their final eight dual meets, with a close loss to No. 5 Arizona State during that time. The Tigers have only one No. 1 seed, All-American Brock Mauller at 149, but also have No. 2 seeds in Peyton Mocco (165) and Dylan Wisman (184). Add in No. 3 seeds Allan Hart (133), Jarrett Jacques (157) and Wyatt Koelling (197), The depth of the Tiger program will be tested, and it could be some of the athletes who didn’t get high seeds that make the difference in the team battle.
Who would be the teams to challenge the Tigers? There seems to be some balance in the MAC among their top programs. Eight different teams have a No. 1 seed, an indication that the team race could get real funky.
The only team with three top seeds is Central Michigan, with No. 1 preseeds Drew Hildebrandt at 125, Dresden Simon at 141 and Matt Stencel at 285. Hildebrandt, a Fargo finalist in high school, is brother of World silver medalist Sarah Hildebrandt and ranks top eight in most national polls. Stencel, a returning All-American, is also a top eight ranked athlete in the polls, and has been among the Div. I leaders in pins all year. Simon is in a weight class with seven nationally ranked athletes. Coach Tom Borrelli's Chippewas, the MAC powerhouse before Missouri joined the conference, would love to take back the conference team title.
The other No. 1 preseeds, along with Mauller, Hildebrandt, Simon and Stencel are Tim Rooney of Kent State (133), Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider (157), Troy Keller of Buffalo (165), Jacob Oliver of Edinboro (174), Trevor Allard of Bloomsburg (184), and Greg Bulsak of Clarion (197).
One of the three 2019 MAC All-Americans who is returning did not get a No. 1 seed, Lock Haven’s No. 4 seed Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven at 141. There are also two 2018 All-Americans in this weight class, Sa’Derian Perry of Old Dominion and Grant Leeth of Missouri. (Perry won his AA for Eastern Michigan which dropped wrestling). Pretty hard to find a conference weight class where three All-Americans are not seeded No. 1. Leeth, who was injured last year, only has 15 matches this year, and is not ranked by Trackwrestling, WIN or Flowrestling, but is No. 28 in the RPI and the Coaches Rankings.
Every weight class has at least three nationally ranked wrestlers, with 125 pounds loaded with nine ranked entries.
Want to follow a wide-open conference meet. Check out this year’s MAC Tournament. The competition will be exciting, starting with the first session on Saturday, all the way through Sunday’s finals.
Event: Mid-American Wrestling Championships
Location: Convocation Center, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, Ill.
Date: Friday, Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8
MAC: 41 automatic qualifiers
125 (3), 133 (5), 141 (5), 149 (5), 157 (6), 165 (2), 174 (4), 184 (3), 197 (4), 285 (4)
NWCA Dual Meet Ranked Teams
No. 23 Missouri
Receiving Votes: Rider
Receiving Votes: Northern Illinois
Trackwrestling Tournament Ranked Teams
No. 22 (tie) Central Michigan
No. 25 Missouri
No. 27 (tie) Rider
Individual ranked wrestlers (Track/WIN/Flo)
125- No. 7/7/8 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan), No. 10/10/13 Luke Werner (Lock Haven), No. 20/20/19 Kilian Cardinale (Old Dominion), No. 23/--/-- Bryce West (Northern Illinois), No. 33/--/-- Jonathon Tropea (Rider)
133 – No. 21/--/16 Allan Hart (Missouri), No. 23/16/22 Derek Spann (Buffalo), No. 28/20/-- DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven), No. 31/18/21 Tim Rooney (Kent State)
141 – No. 17/10/23 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven), No. 19/16/17 Shakur Laney (Ohio), No. 19/18/12 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan), No. 20/20/16 Evan Cheek (Cleveland State), No. 22/--/-- Sa’Derian Perry (Old Dominion), No. 32/--/-- Alex Madrigal (George Mason)
149 – No. 5/4/5 Brock Mauller (Missouri), No. 13/12/12 Brock Zacherl (Clarion), No. 24/13/20 Colston DiBlasi (George Mason), No. 28/--/24 Tyshawn Williams (SIU-Edwardsville), No. 29/--/-- Alec Hagen (Ohio)
157 – No. 5/5/5 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider), No. 15/10/25 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri), No. 16/12/14 Larry Early (Old Dominion), No. 19/--/12 Zac Carson (Ohio), No. 20/18/16 Logan Parks (Central Michigan), No. 24/--/13 Justin Ruffin (SIU-Edwardsville),
165 – No. 24/--/23 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois), No. 25/--/24 Troy Keller (Buffalo), No. 29/--/-- Peyton Mocco (Missouri),
174 – No. 21/--/-- Connor Flynn (Missouri), No. 22/--/17 Dean Sherry (Rider), No. 24/18/13 Jacob Oliver (Edinboro), No. --/--/21 Andrew McNally (Kent State)
184 – No. 21/--/-- Trevor Allard (Bloomsburg), No. 25/--/-- Dylan Wisman (Missouri), No. 26/16/-- Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois)
197 – No. 16/10/11 Greg Bulsak (Clarion), No. 17/16/16 Ethan Laird (Rider), No. 21/--/20 Wyatt Koelling (Missouri), No. 31/--/-- Greg Braun (Northern Illinois), No. 33/--/-- Landon Pelham (Central Michigan), No. --/--/25 Colin McCracken (Kent State)
285 – No. 6/5/4 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan), No. 22/--/-- Colton McKiernan (SIU-Edwardsville), No. 30/--/-- Jon Spaulding (Edinboro), No. 31/--/-- Jordan Earnest (Ohio)
2019 NCAA Div. I All-Americans returning
Kyle Shoop, Lock Haven (7th at 141)
Brock Mauller, Missouri (6th at 149)
Matt Stencel, Central Michigan (7th at 285)
Former All-Americans
Sa’Derian Perry, Old Dominion (8th at 141) at 2018 NCAAs for Eastern Michigan)
Grant Leeth, Missouri (6th at 149) at 2018 NCAAs
2019 MAC Tournament standings: 1. Missouri 180; 2. Buffalo 113.5; 3. Old Dominion, 111; 4. Central Michigan, 110.5; 5. Ohio, 99.5; 6. Northern Illinois, 98, 7. SIU Edwardsville, 68.5; 8. Kent State, 64
2019 EWL Tournament standings: 1. Lock Haven, 111.5; 2. Rider, 93.5; 3. George Mason, 56.5; 4. Edinboro, 45.5; 5. Bloomsburg, 25.5; 6. Clarion, 20; 7. Cleveland State, 8
Event Schedule (Central time)
Saturday, March 7th
9:00 am - Doors open to public
10:00 am - Opening Round (70 matches, 4 mats)
12:30 pm - Championship Quarterfinals (40 matches, 2 mats), Consolation Round 1 (40 matches, 2 mats)
4:00 pm - Championship Semifinals (20 matches, 2 mats), Consolation Round 2 (40 matches, 2 mats)
Sunday, March 8th
11:00 am - Doors open to public
12:00 pm - Consolation Quarterfinals (20 matches, 4 mats)
12:45 pm - Consolation Semifinals (20 matches, 4 mats)
1:30 pm - Championship Finals Parade & Face Off Introductions
1:40 pm - Championship Finals
Tickets: Two-Day Pass ($40), One-Day Pass ($25), One Day Group Pass ($20). Click here to purchase tickets
MAC Tournament pre-seeds
National power Missouri seeks its eighth straight MAC title, in the first year of an expanded conference, when the 15-team Mid-American Conference Wrestling Championships is held at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill., March 7-8.
This season, the eight team MAC wrestling conference added in seven new teams, all which previously competed in the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL). This makes the MAC the second-largest Div. I college wrestling conference in terms of teams, behind only the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA).
With the expansion of the conference comes 41 automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis. Only the Big Ten, Big 12 and the EIWA have more automatic berths.
There have been some recent years that Missouri has dominated the action at the MAC Championships, but that may not be the case this season. No. 23 Mizzou is the only MAC team in final NWCA Div. I Coaches Poll, which is based upon dual meets (both Rider and Northern Illinois got votes). However, in the Trackwrestling NCAA Tournament rankings, Central Michigan is highest among MAC schools at a tie for No. 22, followed by No. 25 Missouri and then Rider in a tie for No. 27.
Mizzou has an eight-year conference title streak, started with a Big 12 title in their final year in that conference. Could this be the year somebody stops the Missouri conference championship streak? Could there be a formula that stops this runaway train? You can be sure that Coach Brian Smith’s Tigers will be ready to battle. Until somebody beats the champion, respect the champion.
Missouri comes in hot, winning six of their final eight dual meets, with a close loss to No. 5 Arizona State during that time. The Tigers have only one No. 1 seed, All-American Brock Mauller at 149, but also have No. 2 seeds in Peyton Mocco (165) and Dylan Wisman (184). Add in No. 3 seeds Allan Hart (133), Jarrett Jacques (157) and Wyatt Koelling (197), The depth of the Tiger program will be tested, and it could be some of the athletes who didn’t get high seeds that make the difference in the team battle.
Who would be the teams to challenge the Tigers? There seems to be some balance in the MAC among their top programs. Eight different teams have a No. 1 seed, an indication that the team race could get real funky.
The only team with three top seeds is Central Michigan, with No. 1 preseeds Drew Hildebrandt at 125, Dresden Simon at 141 and Matt Stencel at 285. Hildebrandt, a Fargo finalist in high school, is brother of World silver medalist Sarah Hildebrandt and ranks top eight in most national polls. Stencel, a returning All-American, is also a top eight ranked athlete in the polls, and has been among the Div. I leaders in pins all year. Simon is in a weight class with seven nationally ranked athletes. Coach Tom Borrelli's Chippewas, the MAC powerhouse before Missouri joined the conference, would love to take back the conference team title.
The other No. 1 preseeds, along with Mauller, Hildebrandt, Simon and Stencel are Tim Rooney of Kent State (133), Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider (157), Troy Keller of Buffalo (165), Jacob Oliver of Edinboro (174), Trevor Allard of Bloomsburg (184), and Greg Bulsak of Clarion (197).
One of the three 2019 MAC All-Americans who is returning did not get a No. 1 seed, Lock Haven’s No. 4 seed Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven at 141. There are also two 2018 All-Americans in this weight class, Sa’Derian Perry of Old Dominion and Grant Leeth of Missouri. (Perry won his AA for Eastern Michigan which dropped wrestling). Pretty hard to find a conference weight class where three All-Americans are not seeded No. 1. Leeth, who was injured last year, only has 15 matches this year, and is not ranked by Trackwrestling, WIN or Flowrestling, but is No. 28 in the RPI and the Coaches Rankings.
Every weight class has at least three nationally ranked wrestlers, with 125 pounds loaded with nine ranked entries.
Want to follow a wide-open conference meet. Check out this year’s MAC Tournament. The competition will be exciting, starting with the first session on Saturday, all the way through Sunday’s finals.
Event: Mid-American Wrestling Championships
Location: Convocation Center, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, Ill.
Date: Friday, Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8
MAC: 41 automatic qualifiers
125 (3), 133 (5), 141 (5), 149 (5), 157 (6), 165 (2), 174 (4), 184 (3), 197 (4), 285 (4)
NWCA Dual Meet Ranked Teams
No. 23 Missouri
Receiving Votes: Rider
Receiving Votes: Northern Illinois
Trackwrestling Tournament Ranked Teams
No. 22 (tie) Central Michigan
No. 25 Missouri
No. 27 (tie) Rider
Individual ranked wrestlers (Track/WIN/Flo)
125- No. 7/7/8 Drew Hildebrandt (Central Michigan), No. 10/10/13 Luke Werner (Lock Haven), No. 20/20/19 Kilian Cardinale (Old Dominion), No. 23/--/-- Bryce West (Northern Illinois), No. 33/--/-- Jonathon Tropea (Rider)
133 – No. 21/--/16 Allan Hart (Missouri), No. 23/16/22 Derek Spann (Buffalo), No. 28/20/-- DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven), No. 31/18/21 Tim Rooney (Kent State)
141 – No. 17/10/23 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven), No. 19/16/17 Shakur Laney (Ohio), No. 19/18/12 Dresden Simon (Central Michigan), No. 20/20/16 Evan Cheek (Cleveland State), No. 22/--/-- Sa’Derian Perry (Old Dominion), No. 32/--/-- Alex Madrigal (George Mason)
149 – No. 5/4/5 Brock Mauller (Missouri), No. 13/12/12 Brock Zacherl (Clarion), No. 24/13/20 Colston DiBlasi (George Mason), No. 28/--/24 Tyshawn Williams (SIU-Edwardsville), No. 29/--/-- Alec Hagen (Ohio)
157 – No. 5/5/5 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider), No. 15/10/25 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri), No. 16/12/14 Larry Early (Old Dominion), No. 19/--/12 Zac Carson (Ohio), No. 20/18/16 Logan Parks (Central Michigan), No. 24/--/13 Justin Ruffin (SIU-Edwardsville),
165 – No. 24/--/23 Izzak Olejnik (Northern Illinois), No. 25/--/24 Troy Keller (Buffalo), No. 29/--/-- Peyton Mocco (Missouri),
174 – No. 21/--/-- Connor Flynn (Missouri), No. 22/--/17 Dean Sherry (Rider), No. 24/18/13 Jacob Oliver (Edinboro), No. --/--/21 Andrew McNally (Kent State)
184 – No. 21/--/-- Trevor Allard (Bloomsburg), No. 25/--/-- Dylan Wisman (Missouri), No. 26/16/-- Brit Wilson (Northern Illinois)
197 – No. 16/10/11 Greg Bulsak (Clarion), No. 17/16/16 Ethan Laird (Rider), No. 21/--/20 Wyatt Koelling (Missouri), No. 31/--/-- Greg Braun (Northern Illinois), No. 33/--/-- Landon Pelham (Central Michigan), No. --/--/25 Colin McCracken (Kent State)
285 – No. 6/5/4 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan), No. 22/--/-- Colton McKiernan (SIU-Edwardsville), No. 30/--/-- Jon Spaulding (Edinboro), No. 31/--/-- Jordan Earnest (Ohio)
2019 NCAA Div. I All-Americans returning
Kyle Shoop, Lock Haven (7th at 141)
Brock Mauller, Missouri (6th at 149)
Matt Stencel, Central Michigan (7th at 285)
Former All-Americans
Sa’Derian Perry, Old Dominion (8th at 141) at 2018 NCAAs for Eastern Michigan)
Grant Leeth, Missouri (6th at 149) at 2018 NCAAs
2019 MAC Tournament standings: 1. Missouri 180; 2. Buffalo 113.5; 3. Old Dominion, 111; 4. Central Michigan, 110.5; 5. Ohio, 99.5; 6. Northern Illinois, 98, 7. SIU Edwardsville, 68.5; 8. Kent State, 64
2019 EWL Tournament standings: 1. Lock Haven, 111.5; 2. Rider, 93.5; 3. George Mason, 56.5; 4. Edinboro, 45.5; 5. Bloomsburg, 25.5; 6. Clarion, 20; 7. Cleveland State, 8
Event Schedule (Central time)
Saturday, March 7th
9:00 am - Doors open to public
10:00 am - Opening Round (70 matches, 4 mats)
12:30 pm - Championship Quarterfinals (40 matches, 2 mats), Consolation Round 1 (40 matches, 2 mats)
4:00 pm - Championship Semifinals (20 matches, 2 mats), Consolation Round 2 (40 matches, 2 mats)
Sunday, March 8th
11:00 am - Doors open to public
12:00 pm - Consolation Quarterfinals (20 matches, 4 mats)
12:45 pm - Consolation Semifinals (20 matches, 4 mats)
1:30 pm - Championship Finals Parade & Face Off Introductions
1:40 pm - Championship Finals
Tickets: Two-Day Pass ($40), One-Day Pass ($25), One Day Group Pass ($20). Click here to purchase tickets
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