In the wake of Super 32, another national event was held last weekend, the annual Preseason Nationals.
While the entire brackets of weights weren’t as loaded with ranked wrestlers, there were some individual matches that caught our eye and did play a factor in our first set of rankings (dropping Sunday Nov. 5th).
So, as I mentioned, not nearly the depth in the brackets to impact rankings tremendously, there were a handful of results to pay attention to that did have an effect. I’d put the Gill win over Mauger at the top of the list. One, Mauger was top 10 coming in. Two, Gill shut him out. After that, I’d go Blair over Slade. Slade is up a lot from he competed last season, but is a solid top 15 wrestler. Blair is similar, though perhaps naturally bigger. You’d expect Blair to control things but you would also want to see it close. That’s what we got. Then, I like Mauger coming back for 3rd. Undeterred by the loss to Gill, he controlled Jake Knight, himself a top 20 type, 7-2. I don’t have the Gill over Eck finals as a key result but that was an injury.
Also, keep in mind there were some performances by kids throughout that definitely put them on the radar or got them into that “next 25” group. We’ll be watching how they follow up as the season unfolds.
Based in Western PA. Right in the heart of WPIAL country, Todd brings an insider’s view from the country’s epicenter of wrestling. He’s excited to build on the TKDWN tradition of starting with the story first. The athletes, the coaches, their families and supporters, there is no shortage of stories to tell. And Todd will bring his unique perspective to help us continue to deliver top notch content for the world’s greatest sport!
