Here is my preseason breakdown of the team and where I think we end up, both as a team and individually:
125: McCrone looks like the starter if Gonzales can't get down to 125. If possible without risking health of course, Gonzales needs to get down to 125 or else we won't have a qualifier at this weight.
133: Bouzakis narrowly defeated Gonzales 7-6 according to the official site.
@Akron Rick I couldn't watch the match, is that wrong? Kind of a nightmare scenario if Bouzakis lost, we need Gonzales at 125, Bouzakis at 133 and Mendez at 141. If we have that, I like the start to our lineup.
141: Mendez is a stud, he can make a run at the title if he makes that next step. Talent is there to win it from here on out (same goes for Bouzakis btw).
149: D'Emilio is a stud and thankfully can step in here for Sammy more than admirably. I would predict him somewhere between #2-6 on the podium this year with the field he has. Best guess is #3 and that would be a great season.
157: Gallagher I have no clue on...he is immensely talented, but the results so far are all over the place...but obviously super early, so hopefully talent and hard work meet here. Destroyed a decent opponent in wrestle offs and hopefully he is fully healthy. Paddy can fight his way to finals, or not win a match at NCAA's from what I have seen so far. My gut says if he is healthy, then he gets somewhere between #5-8 on the podium.
165: Looks like Wilcox at 165, maybe Hepner (not sure if he is healthy?). He will have a winning record and qualify, likely will not be on the podium.
174: Kharchla is immensely talented and I hope he stays healthy. He will not beat Starocci or Griffith, and there are a few others that would take the perfect match. So I would say somewhere between #3-7, my best guess being #4.
184: Shumate could be a good wrestler here, I think he will turn some heads this year. Kind of reminds me of Kollin Moore really with his style and that he could be an underrated kid that does really well. This year, I see him qualifying and winning 2-3 matches at NCAA's.
197: Hoffman is a complete wildcard that I don't think is going to AA again unless he really steps it up. I see about 3 wins at NCAA's and narrowly missing AA, but I hope he gets back on the podium to finish out. I do think he will take runner-up at B1G's.
HWT: I have been the biggest proponent of Feldman after he committed and still am...he has the goods. Just really tough to forecast a young HWT like that. I will take a bold prediction on the optimistic side and say he takes third at NCAA's. He has the ability to win it though, or possibly not place if the physical development to wrestle as an undersized HWT is not there, so it could go either way.
Overall: Without Sammy as a potential champ, we are probably looking at #4-8 overall team finish unless all of Bouzakis, Mendez, Gallagher, Kharchla, Hoffman and Feldman wrestle to the level they were ranked at coming into our program. That is possible on each front, but every single guy was ranked #1 at their weight coming in and have to compete like that...PSU rarely gets a #1 guy that doesn't win a title. After the Sasso news, I had trouble making a prediction because there are so many variables at just about every weight. Hoping for the best of those variables to work out!
