The SouthernScuffle.com's #LetsScuffle previews wrap up with today's overview of the 197 and 285 brackets. The 2014 Southern Scuffle, presented by Defense Soap and Flips Wrestling opens the new year as the toughest in-season collegiate wrestling tournament in the nation. Hosted, but the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the Southern Scuffle takes place on Jan. 1-2, in Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena.
Both of these brackets boast the current No. 1 ranked wrestler in the nation, while 197 has each of the top three. There are seven All-Americans and last year's NCAA heavyweight champion set to compete in this group.
#LetsScuffle Previews: 125 | 133 | 141 | 149 | 157 | 165 | 174 | 184
Minnesota junior Scott Schiller leads at 197 as Intermat's current No. 1. He placed fifth at last year's Scuffle and was fifth at the 2013 NCAA Championships. He has a win this season over the current No. 2 in the nation, Iowa State sophomore Kyven Gadson. Schiller scored a 3-2 decision over Gadsen in the finals of the Cyclone Open on Nov. 16.
Gadsen, a 2013 All-American, is 9-1 on the year and making his first appearance in the Scuffle. Penn State sophomore Morgan McIntosh is up to No. 3 with his 11-0 record and is also one of the top contenders.
“Gadsen and Schiller have already met once this year, and by all accounts it was a great match,” stated UTC head coach Heath Eslinger. “They will both have a tough path to get to the finals, but they could be headed for a rematch. However, one of them has to get past an undefeated McIntosh.”
Oregon State junior Taylor Meeks (No. 6) and American senior Daniel Mitchell (No. 9) are the other two top-10 wrestlers at 197. Meeks and Oklahoma State senior Blake Rosholt are both returning All-Americans.
Meeks started the season at No. 1, defeating Schiller 6-4 in the All-Star Classic on Nov. 2. Schiller got payback with a 3-1 overtime win in the dual meet on Nov. 30. Mitchell placed second at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational earlier in the month.
“With so many guys in the top-10 in this class, I think you could see a preview of the NCAA Championships in the finals,” added Eslinger. “Meeks has shown he can compete at a high level and Mitchell has already been in some big matches.”
Rosholt is one of six ranked in the 11-20 range. He is joined by No. 12 Brandon Palik (Drexel – Sr.), No. 13 Phillip Wellington (Ohio – So.), No. 14 J'den Cox (Missouri – Fr.), No. 17 Nick Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh – So.) and No. 20 Connor Hartmann (Duke – So.).
Ranked Wrestlers at 197 (Intermat 12/24)
| Rank |
Name |
Year |
School |
2013 Scuffle Place at 197 |
| 1 |
Scott Schiller* |
Junior |
Minnesota |
5 |
| 2 |
Kyven Gadsen* |
Junior |
Iowa State |
|
| 3 |
Morgan McIntosh |
Sophomore |
Penn State |
|
| 6 |
Taylor Meeks* |
Junior |
Oregon State |
|
| 9 |
Daniel Mitchell |
Senior |
American |
|
| 12 |
Brandon Palik |
Senior |
Drexel |
|
| 13 |
Phil Wellington |
Sophomore |
Ohio |
4 |
| 14 |
J'den Cox |
Freshman |
Missouir |
|
| 15 |
Blake Rosholt* |
Senior |
Oklahoma State |
|
| 17 |
Nick Bonaccorsi |
Sophomore |
Pittsburgh |
|
| 20 |
Conner Hartmann |
Sophomore |
Duke |
6 |
| |
Jace Bennett |
Junior |
Cornell |
7 |
*Denotes All-American Honors
Heavyweight may not have the number of top-ranked competitors as the rest of the tournament, but it does have a lot of star power at the top. Minnesota senior Tony Nelson is the two-time defending NCAA Champion and the 2012 Scuffle winner.
Nelson is looking to avenge an upset in last year's finals when he fell to Missouri's Dominique Bradley in the overtime. His toughest competition will come from returning All-Americans N.C. State sophomore Nick Gwiazdowski and Ohio senior Jeremy Johnson.
“Nelson is definitely the class of this bracket, having won the last two NCAA titles,” added Eslinger. “This field is still tough, and as we saw last year, anyone can get beat in a low scoring match”
Gwiadowski is No. 5 in the nation with an 18-1 overall record. He posted a third place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite on Dec. 7-8. Johnson is currently No. 11 in the nation.
Others ranked at heavyweight include Penn State junior Jimmy Lawson (No. 12), Oklahoma State sophomore Austin Marsden (No. 15), Arizona State junior Kyle Colling (No. 16), Oregon State freshman Amarveer Dhesi (No. 17) and Bucknell junior Joe Stofi (No. 18).
Ranked Wrestlers at 285 (Intermat 12/24)
| Rank |
Name |
Year |
School |
2013 Scuffle Finish at 285 |
| 1 |
Tony Nelson |
Senior |
Minnesota |
2 |
| 5 |
Nick Gwiazdowski |
Sophomore |
N.C. State |
3 |
| 11 |
Jeremy Johnson |
Senior |
Ohio |
5 |
| 12 |
Jimmy Lawson |
Junior |
Penn State |
7 |
| 15 |
Austin Marsden |
Sophomore |
Oklahoma State |
|
| 16 |
Kyle Colling |
Junior |
Arizona State |
|
| 17 |
Amarveer Dhesi |
Freshman |
Oregon State |
|
| 18 |
Joe Stofi |
Junior |
Bucknell |
|
*Denotes All-American Honors
Tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com for the 2014 Southern Scuffle, presented by Defense Soap and Flips Wrestling. Fans can also call the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627). New this season are lower level reserved seats, which are filling up fast. Be sure to get close to the action by purchasing your tickets now.
If you can't make it to the Scuffle, be sure to follow all of the action on TheSouthernScuffle.com. Here you will find links for the Flowrestling live broadcast, as well as live scoring and updated brackets provided by Trackwrestling.com.
Don't forget to use the hashtag #LetsScuffle when talking about the event on social media. Look for updates on the Chattanooga Strong twitter account @UTCWrestling.
