Preview – 141 lbs.

141 lbs.

2011 Seeds
1. Yewah, UW-Lax
2. Stierly, Ithaca
3. Sterling, Cortland
4. Albright, York
5. Bridge, Stevens
6. Donahue, Cornell
7. Kelly, Wartburg
8. Alsieux, Centenary

Returning All-Americans
Yewah, UW-Lax, 1st at 133 in 2010
Stierly, Ithaca, 2nd in 2010
Sterling, Cortland, 4th at 133 in 2010
Bridge, Stevens, 5th in 2010
Donahue, Cornell, 4th in 2010, 7th in 2009
Kelly, Wartburg, 3rd in 2010, 3rd at 133 in 2009, 5th in 2008
Ulrich, Delaware Valley, 6th in 2010
Garber, Waynesburg, 7th at 133 in 2010

With no less than eight All-Americans at 141, it should be one of the more hotly contested brackets in the tournament. The top two seeds are both undefeated in DIII and were both finalists last year, with Yewah winning at 133 and Stierly finishing second here at 141. Yewah has not truly been challenged yet this year by a DIII wrestler, and he dominated in his conference tournament with a fall and tech fall. Stierly has had a bit tougher of a road, as he has beaten four of the returning All-Americans, including #3 seed Sterling in his own conference, as well as qualifiers Alsieux and Sandy.

Worth noting here is Kelly of Wartburg. He will be looking for his fourth All-American award, and he can never be counted out, as he has outperformed his seed in each of the past two years. Albright is a Pitt transfer who took an early season loss to Garber but has won every match since, including a 13-0 drubbing of Ulrich and a 3-2 win over the JUCO wrestler who dealt Stierly his only loss this season. Bridge had to shake off an injury suffered in his first match of the year that cost him two months, and his only other defeat was in overtime to Stierly. Finally, this weight also includes NCAA qualifiers Grippi, Bokoski, and LeClere who are not even seeded.

Prediction: It is boring to always pick #1 seeds, but Yewah has been dominant, even up a weight, so he is the pick here to help La Crosse make a run at the title.