Empire Conference Preview
Please Note: These are predictions of what will happen at a specific tournament on a specific date. They are not seedings or rankings. We have seen all the results and made predictions based off those results. We may predict someone to win, even if they recently lost to a conference opponent, but that does not mean we did not see the results.
All week long, d3wrestle.com will be publishing previews of each of the NCAA qualifying tournaments to be held this weekend. In addition to predicting winners and identifying the top athletes at each weight, we will attempt to predict all 160 qualifiers based on the number of wildcards available for each qualifying tournament. With nine qualifiers, d3wrestle.com will publish two each day, with the last one appearing Friday morning.
Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference – 15 qualifiers
Predicted Team Champ: Ithaca College
Top Individual: Paul LeBlanc, Cortland
Returning NCAA Qualifiers: Mike McInally (RIT 125), Dave Colagiovanni (Cortland 133), Derrick Smith (Oswego 141), Luke Baum (RIT 141), Paul LeBlanc (Cortland 149, 7th NCAA), Blaine Woszczak (Ithaca 149), Willie Horwath (Ithaca 157), Chris Dahlheimer (Lycoming 165), Donnie Williams (Brockport 165, 2006), Eric Van Patten (Brockport 174), David Priest (Ithaca 174)
A rough NCAA tournament last year dropped the Empire down to 15 qualifiers for 2009, and the conference is looking to bounce back this March. The talent seems to be concentrated in the lower 2/3 of the weight classes, and several weights have multiple All-American contenders. Two time All-American Paul LeBlanc of Cortland may be the top wrestler in the conference, as he was ranked first in the country at the beginning of the year and has yet to drop a match in Division III. Also very good in the Empire is 125 lb. Mike McInally of RIT at 27-0. He will be looking to climb the podium for the first time. 141 is the most competitive weight class where four wrestlers have a chance to win. A good battle should also take place at 174 between Van Patten and Priest.
Weight by Weight (predicted qualifiers in bold)
125 Prediction: Mike McInally, RIT
Top Challengers: Seth Ecker, Ithaca; Peppy Cabrera, Cortland
133 Prediction: Chad Winowich, Ithaca
Top Challengers: Sterling/Colagiovanni, Cortland; Fallott/Distefano, Brockport; Dom Commodore, Messiah
141 Prediction: John Paxos, Ithaca
Top Challengers: Luke Baum, RIT; Derrick Smith, Oswego; Stephen Perez, Cortland
149 Prediction: Paul LeBlanc, Cortland
Top Challengers: Blaine Woszczak, Ithaca; Mike Bressler, Messiah; Mike Maurer, Lycoming
157 Prediction: Willie Horwath, Ithaca
Top Challenger: Craig Gin, Messiah
165 Prediction: Chris Dahlheimer, Lycoming
Top Challengers: Jason Wake, RIT; David Jones, Messiah; Donnie Williams, Brockport
174 Prediction: David Priest, Ithaca
Top Challengers: Eric Van Patten, Brockport; Josh Wake, Oneonta
184 Prediction: Josh Lancaster, Brockport
Top Challenger: Martino Sottile, Cortland
197 Prediction: Joel Ford, Oswego
Top Challengers: Tom Voorhis, Brockport; Chris Carabello, Ithaca; Bryan Kopesky, Lycoming
285 Prediction: Joseph Goetz, Ithaca
Top Challengers: Jabril Patterson, Brockport; Joe Murphy, Cortland