NCAA Tournament Time

[Jon Perkins]

There hasn't been too much chatter about the NCAA tournament so lets get it going. There are a lot of good guys I am excited to watch but lets concentrate on the WV related wrestlers seeing how this is a WV wrestling forum.

Lets start with the easy stuff first. WVU had four guys qualify, two potential All Americans and two other guys who will more than likely be wearing tennis shoes when they show up at the venue on Saturday.

At 125 Kilian Cardinale will more than likely have Malik Heinselman in the second round. If he gets by this match his path to an All American status is more than manageable. Malik is quite talented but I definitely give the edge to Killian in this match. This will set up a quarter final match with Brandon Courtney which is the by far better than any of the other Top 3 seeds. If he wins this match he is an All American but if he loses this will set up a Round of 12 match with either Broady Teske or Trevor Mastogiovanni, both of whom he has already beat this year. So I think Killian Cardinale will end up on the podium for the second year in a row.

At 165 Peyton Hall should have the 8 seed Phillip Conigliaro in the second round. I do not know much about this cat but with Peyton's resume of quality wins this year I will give him the nod here. This will set up a quarter final with Evan Wick the #1 seed which should send Peyton to the Consi's for a round of 12 match with either Thomas Bullard or Justin McCoy. He has already beaten Bullard this year so I think this match is more than winnable putting Peyton on the podium for the first time. However he loses the second round match his path to an All American status is manageable but will be much more difficult as he would have to go through Weber from NDST and Cam Amine or Alex Marinelli.

At 157 Josh Humpheys should match up against Ryan Deakin in the quarters. This match to me is going to be one to watch. I think Josh stands a good chance of winning this match which would put him on the podium but if he loses it would more than likely set up a round of 12 match with Kendall Coleman or Jacob Wright and I think he beats either one of these guys to finish as an All American.

Last but not least is Braxton Amos at 197. Braxton did not have a great BIG 10 tournament but I think you will see a different guy in Detroit. Even though he has a 23 seed I believe he wins his first round match to meet Rocky Elam in the second round. I don't like this matchup for Braxton so I think he goes to the consi's. I believe he could win his first match in the consolation bracket but then would probably meet up with the loser of the Jay Aiello and Kordell Norfleet match and I think either of these guys poses a problem for Braxton. While I do not think Braxton will reach the podium I do think he has a much better tournament then he did last weekend.

Good luck to all these individuals at the National Tournament, the state of WV will be well represented and should give wrestling fans a lot to cheer for. To all the families of these young men, I wish you safe travels to and from Detroit.