There are five of the top six ranked wrestlers at 113 including Joey Harrison who is ranked 1st at 120, but is listed at 113 for this tournament. If this is Harrison’s return to the mat since his All-American finish at the Super 32 tournament, he’ll be met by hungry opponents looking to prove themselves. With Harrison listed at 113, Burke has both Dion Bonam and Aeneas Renfrow listed at 120. Bonam is ranked #6 at 113, and Renfrow has had a very solid season. Highly touted freshman Jakason Burks could also make his season debut, and he should see #2 Cody Niemiec. At 182, top-ranked Darlondo Hill will face his toughest test of the year against Justin Shaw of Lincoln Southwest. Hill is 19-0 on the season with 19 pins, but Shaw puts points on the board in a hurry and is dangerous in scrambles.
Pool A:
Columbus (COL)
Omaha Burke (OB)
Papillion La-Vista (PLV)
South Sioux City (SSC)
Potential High Profile Matchups:
106- Jakason Burks (OB) vs #2 Cody Niemiec (PLV)
113- #2 Carter Kucera (COL) vs #1 at 120 Joey Harrison (OB)
113- #2 Carter Kucera (COL) vs #3 Nolan Niemiec (PLV)
113- #3 Nolan Niemiec (PLV) vs #1 at 120 Joey Harrison (OB)
120- #6 Dion Bonam/Aeneas Renfrow (OB) vs #4 Reid Dasher (PLV)
170- Zach Baldwin (COL) vs #6 Tyson Merchant (SSC)
Columbus and Omaha Burke will likely battle for the top 2 spots in Pool A. Assuming Joey Harrison and Jakason Burks are back in Burke’s lineup, this dual could come down to earning bonus points and not giving up bonus points.
Pool B
Lincoln Southwest (LSW)
Millard West (MW)
Lincoln East (LE)
Omaha Westside (OW)
Potential High Profile Matchups:
113- #4 Cole Zebley (MW) vs #1 Maxx Mayfield (LE)
126- Chayton Koch (LSW) vs #6 Camden Russell (MW)
182- #1 Darlondo Hill (OW) vs #3 Justin Shaw (LSW)
220- #1 Connor Clanton (LSW) vs #4 Alex Dukart (MW)
Lincoln Southwest and Millard West should likely take the top 2 spots in Pool B. There are two high profile matches that could occur in this dual, but the performance of both team’s underclassmen should be the difference.
After cross bracketing, these potential matchups could occur:
113- #2 Carter Kucera (COL)vs #2 Cody Niemiec (PLV)
113- #2 Carter Kucera (COL) vs #1 Maxx Mayfield (LE)
113- #1 at 120 Joey Harrison (OB) vs #2 Cody Niemiec (PLV)
113- #1 at 120 Joey Harrison (OB) vs #1 Maxx Mayfield (LE)
113- #3 Nolan Niemiec (PLV) vs #2 Cody Niemiec (PLV)
113- #3 Nolan Niemiec (PLV) vs #1 Maxx Mayfield (LE)
120- #6 Dion Bonam/Aeneas Renfrow (OB) vs #3 Jack Huffman (MW)
152- #4 Carson Zwingman (COL) vs #5 Josh Jansa (OW)
170- Matt Sorich (MW) vs #6 Tyson Merchant (SSC)
170- Matt Sorich (MW) vs Zach Baldwin (COL)
182- #1 Darlondo Hill (COL) vs #3 at 170 Kasten Grape (COL)
182- #3 Justin Shaw (LSW) vs #3 at 170 Kasten Grape (COL)
195- #1 Colton Wolfe (COL) vs #3 Doug Vawter (MW)
195- #1 Colton Wolfe (COL) vs #6 Grady Greenwood (LE)
220- #2 Wyatt Olcott (COL) vs #1 Connor Clanton (LSW)
220- #2 Wyatt Olcott (COL) vs #4 Alex Dukart (MW)