2010 Weight Class Preview: 165
Qualifiers at 165
Returning qualifiers in italics, All-Americans in bold, any year:
Vinnie Alber (UW-Platteville)
Matt Baarson (St. John’s)
Carrington Banks (Wartburg)
Justin Barowski (Delaware Valley)
Matt Curley (Heidelberg)
Chris Dahlheimer (Lycoming)
Joey Favia (Stevens)
Cory Ferguson (UW-La Crosse)
Nick LeClere (Coe)
Mike Morin (Southern Maine)
Kyle Packer (TCNJ)
Orlando Ponce (Augsburg)
Vincent Renaut (Merchant Marine)
Jordan Schulte (UW-Stevens Point)
Josh Terrell (Dubuque)
Josef Waples (St. Olaf)
Trent Zempel (Messiah)
This weight class seemed to be pretty straightforward at the top. The top guy had beaten everyone below him, the next guy beat everyone else, and so on. Then Josh Terrell and the IIAC tournament happened. Terrell, a two time All-American, wrestled a great tournament and beat the #1 and #2 ranked wrestlers at his weight. This will be a fun weight to watch to see if the seeds hold up. The presumptive top two wrestlers before Terrell did his work were Carrington Banks of Wartburg and Nick LeClere of Coe. Neither were in Division III last year, but both defeated the previous #1, Mike Morin of Southern Maine, on the same day in December, and then Banks beat LeClere in their dual meet. Banks was a junior college champion last year, while LeClere was wrestling for Iowa. Morin is the top returner at this weight having defeated Terrell in last year’s tournament. All three of his losses this year were on December 20th at the Desert Duals. Otherwise, he’s been rolling.
Chris Dahlheimer of Lycoming is the only other All-American back at this weight. He won the Empire Conference, defeating Messiah’s Zempel, and he also beat Curley of Heidelber earlier this year. He has not wrestled the same type of schedule as those above him, but he is undefeated in DIII except for a loss to Luke Miller of Ohio Northern, who happens to be in this tournament but at a lower weight. Curley, Ferguson, Ponce, and Renaut all return at this weight, while Zempel was a qualifier in 2008, and Baarson was a 2009 qualifier at 157. There are a few interesting matchups to consider at this weight that made seeding interesting. Zempel beat Renaut. Renaut beat Favia. Favia beat Zempel. Ponce beat Waples. Waples beat Baarson. Baarson beat Ponce. There may be others, but the point is made. Two surprise entries here are Packer from TCNJ and Waples from St. Olaf. Waples was not on our radar at 165 after splitting time between there and 157 and only having a 12-4 DIII record, but he made the Great Lakes final to take an automatic slot. Packer was likely assuming next year would be his year to shine until an injury to DiColo and the decision by Bonitatis to drop to 157 opened a spot for him at 165 and he took full advantage.
Seeds
1. Terrell
2. Banks
3. LeClere
4. Morin
5. Dahlheimer
6. Baarson
7. Ponce
8. Curley