2013 149 lbs. Preview

149
West 1 Long Concordia Moorhead
West 2 Sanders Concordia Wisconsin
West 3 Stevermer St. John’s
Central 1 Silvestri Wartburg
Central 2 Engle Cornell
Central 3 Powell Dubuque
Midwest 1 Perkin Whitewater
Midwest 2 Strobel Stevens Point
Midwest 3 Strausbaugh Wabash
Mideast 1 Pisani York
Mideast 2 Mirman John Carroll
Mideast 3 Lohr Waynesburg
East 1 Polizzi Stevens
East 2 Hartenstine Wilkes
East 3 Ajagbe Delaware Valley
Northeast 1 Dierna Cortland
Northeast 2 Lopez Williams
Northeast 3 Tobochnik Wesleyan

d3wrestle.com Ranking #11 – March 5, 2013

Like 141, none of last year’s placewinners return at 149, leaving the weight wide open. There is just one returning All-American at a different weight, but that is 2012 141 lbs. champion and #1 ranked Silvestri. He has a single loss to Pederson of Olivet (who did not qualify) back in December, but he has cruised since then and dominated the C entral Region. #2 Polizzi shocked some by defeating the then #2 Hartenstine in the East final right after topping then #3 Ajagbe.  If he has another weekend like that, he could be high on the podium. Hartenstine is a midyear transfer from Campbell who had been outstanding until last weekend, and he should still be very much in the mix for a title. Ajagbe struggled a bit in an overtime loss to Polizzi and a tiebreaker win just to make the tournament, but will also be in the hunt. #4 Dierna and #5 Pisani are both outstanding newcomers. Dierna has only lost to Ajagbe in DIII, while Pisani has only a pair of losses to Dierna and a tiebreaker loss to Hartenstine. #7 Long got himself noticed with a win in the West Region and a win over #9 Engle, though he has split this year with Stevermer. #8 Sanders won every match from November 17th until last Saturday when he injury defaulted to Long and is now 36-4. #10 Mirman finishes out the top ten, while Lopez is just behind and has flown quietly under the radar during a very strong season. Perkin won the Midwest and had to beat an opponent he had lost to three times just to make the finals where he topped Strobel, who dropped to 149 late in the year.