2010 Weight Class Preview: 125

Individual weight class previews start today here on d3wrestle.com.  We will cover two weights per day today, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Once the seeds and brackets are out, those will be added to each preview.

Qualifiers at 125
Returning qualifiers in italics, All-Americans in bold, any year:
Jordan Alfaro (Merchant Marine)
Dan Bloom (Wesleyan)

Terrance Clendenin (Delaware Valley)
Tyler Erdman (Elizabethtown)
George Gogonas (Augustana)
Jon Gregory (Ithaca)
Mark Kist (Wartburg)

Tyler Marlow (Brockport)
Lloyd McKinney (UW-La Crosse)
Joe Mileski (UW-Stevens Point)
Austin Mogg (Buena Vista)
Zach Mueller (UW-Oshkosh)
Jake Oster (Elmhurst)
Riki Reynolds (Mount Union)
Joshua Roberts (Augsburg)
Clayton Rush (Coe)

Jayson Swanson (Luther)

This is a weight class that appears to be fairly wide open except for the top few spots.  Right now, Clayton Rush of Coe and Mark Kist of Wartburg are a clear top two with what looks like some distance between them and the rest of the field.  Jake Oster, the defending champ, cannot be counted out with his unorthodox style and belief that he can beat anyone in his weight.  He lost to Kist and Rush at the Desert Duals and then missed nearly two months before returning for the CCIW tournament.  He hopes to get back in top form for Cedar Rapids after dropping the Great Lakes final to Roberts of Augsburg.  Two other returning All-Americans are Tyler Erdman of Elizabethtown and Jon Gregory of Ithaca.  Gregory sat out last year’s tournament when teammate Seth Ecker placed 6th at this weight, but Gregory placed 8th in 2008.  Pennsylvania state champ Erdman had a great senior year to get Elizabethtown on the podium for the first time since 1996.  He returned after a month on the shelf and shook off the rust with an impressive run through the Metro tournament.  Swanson of Luther, McKinney of Luther, Bloom of Wesleyan, and Alfaro of Merchant Marine round out the returning qualifiers, though they will not be among the favorites to place.

Two others to watch for will be Tyler Marlow of Brockport and Terrance Clendenin of Delaware Valley.  Marlow is a freshman who has come on strong toward the end of the year, pinning Gregory in the Empire finals.  He also pinned Erdman to give him his only loss on the year.  Clendenin is on the opposite side of the age spectrum, as the 2000 high school graduate proved he still has something in the tank and won big at the Midwest Region.  He has the pedigree, having made it to the Round of 12 at the 2003 Division I championships for Lehigh.  He is the first of wrestlers at the lowest three weights (Vanier and Bridge at 141) that have returned after a few years away from college competition that can challenge for All-American honors.

Seeds:
1. Rush
2. Kist
3. Erdman
4. Oster
5. Clendenin
6. Marlow
7. Roberts
8. Gregory