NCAA Preview: 125
Weight Class Previews:
125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184 | 197 | 285
Weight Class Preview: 125
Qualifiers by Weight
Heilman has taken on all comers this season and come out on top every time except once against Rush, who he’s beaten three times, and twice against Big Ten opponents. He wrestles an attacking style but is not afraid to be unconventional when the need arises. The senior is talented and motivated to make that #1 seed stand up in front of the home crowd. He has 8 wins against national qualifiers including #2 Rush, #4 Struthers, and #7 Baatar. His quest, along with 159 others begins tomorrow.
Rush has had a brilliant freshman season and has four losses on the year. Three of those were to Heilman and one was to Struthers. He really gets after it and has enough talent to win this weight on the right day. The IIAC really dominates here with three of the top four seeds in Heilman, Rush, and #4 Struthers. #3 belongs to the unconventional Oster. He is tough enough as is, but he is an especially difficult matchup for a first time opponent. If he gets past Cohen in the first round, he’ll then face Vallejo for the third time in his career. Oster won the Wheaton tournament and stopped 2007 NCAA runner-up and #5 seed Flodeen in the regional final.
Sheetz is the #6 seed, and he is another highly touted freshman who came into college with impressive credentials. He has split with Struthers, but lost to Flodeen and Flickinger. He did top All-American Vallejo and Miller in the regional. Baatar steps in at #7 with a win over Flickinger but losses to the 1, 2, and 5 seeds. Flickinger is another returning All-American at this weight, and he is down at #8.
Vallejo comes in unseeded, but defeated Oster here last year on his way to an All-American finish. He’ll likely get another shot at Oster if the seeds hold. Moving on in this deep weight, there are previous qualifiers like Kingsland, McInally, and Penny that didn’t get seeds.
Looking at the bracket, there is no easy road, but Vallejo is set up fairly well to repeat his placing performance of last year, as long as he is ready for another go with Oster.