2014 Midwest Regional Preview
2014 Midwest Regional
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Wabash College – Crawfordsville, Indiana – Event Website
Teams
Alma, University of Chicago, Elmhurst, Manchester, North Central, Olivet, Trine, La Crosse, Stevens Point, Whitewater, Wabash, Wheaton
Top Ten Ranked Individuals – 2013 All-Americans in bold
125 – none
133 – #7 Binion (North Central), #8 Nehls (Whitewater), HM Venecia (Elmhurst)
141 – #5 Holm (Olivet), #7 Adcock (Whitewater)
149 – #2 Prater (Elmhurst), #4 Pederson (Olivet), #7 Perkin (Whitewater)
157 – #4 Lefever (Wabash), #7 Tardy (North Central)
165 – #3 Gibson (Whitewater), #9 Sampson (Wabash)
174 – #9 Allen (Olivet)
184 – #1 Lefever (Wabash), #2 Twohey (La Crosse), #6 Holm (Olivet), HM Olsen (Wheaton)
197 – #2 Siefert (Whitewater), #9 Balderas (Elmhurst)
285 – #4 Edgren (Whitewater), #6 Minske (La Crosse), #10 Koranda (Stevens Point)
Top 30 Teams
#2 Whitewater
#6 Olivet
#9 La Crosse and Wabash (tie)
#20 Elmhurst
#21 North Central
The Midwest was very tough last year, and this year follows the same script. There are only 12 teams, but a full half of them are ranked in the top 21. Four of the weights have at least six wrestlers in the d3wrestle.com Rankings, and three have three guys ranked in the top ten, making it tough to even get to the NCAA championships if a wrestler is not predicted to challenge for an All-American Award.
184 takes the prize as the toughest weight for sure, with the top two wrestlers in #1 Riley Lefever (Wabash) and #2 Eric Twohey (La Crosse) leading the way. #6 Holm is the third top ten guy here, but do not forget about Dan Olsen of Wheaton, a returning All-American after finishing 7th last season at this weight. 149 and 285 are the other weights with three ranked wrestlers, but of those six wrestlers, only #4 Edgren of Whitewater was an All-American a year ago. That said, #2 Ryan Prater of Elmhurst is 13-0 in an abbreviated season at 149 with a win over an All-American this year. He was a transfer from Illinois and will be heard from at the NCAA Championships.
Wabash has a trio of brothers in Reece (157), Connor (174), and Riley (184) Lefever, and all three stand a good chance of making it to Cedar Rapids. Reece was an All-American last season and sits at #4 in the rankings. Connor is just outside the top ten at 174, but is likely the #2 seed at the Regional. Finally, freshman Riley has gradually worked his way up to the #1 spot this season and sits at 34-0 in an outstanding debut year.
Finally, keep an eye on Alma College this weekend. They have not had a national qualifier since the program was resurrected in 2011, but they have a great shot at a few qualifiers this weekend. Matt Tuttle has been in and out of the top ten and has pins in 18 of his 25 wins this year, while Jamie Jakes will be seeded to qualify and has a win over #5 Plummer of Messiah this season.