I'm diving deep in the rankings on this one. I hear about South Dakota State but not much from their neighbor to the north so I was curious about what's happening in Fargo.
125 – Fleetwood (Sr) <Smyrna, DE> or Bianchi (So) <Two Rivers, WI> edit: So, not Fr
Brent Fleetwood transferred in from Central Michigan. He was a 2-time qualifier for CMU (0-2 in 2017, 1-2 in 2016). Bianchi was the starter last year going 24-15 on the season and 0-2 in the tournament. (Neither have a redshirt left to use.)
133 – Sykora (Jr) <Wheaton, MN>
Two-time qualifier (1-2 in 2018, 1-2 in 2017) Cam Sykora had a 23-12 season record. He transferred from South Dakota State before the 16/17 season.
141 – Midkiff (So) <Thomas Jefferson, IA>, Hampton (So) <Blue Springs South, MO> or Nein (So) <Bismarck, ND>
There are several wrestlers at this weight that could end up as the starter. Last year, true freshman McGwire Midkiff jumped from 133 to become the starter (11-15 season record) replacing Sam Hampton who had a 5-7 record (1-5 in duals). Taylor Nein (So) was the starter as a true freshman in 2017 and had a 10-17 record (he redshirted last year).
149 – Van Maanen (Fr) <La Crosse, WI> or Sutton (Fr) <Richmond-Burton, IL>
Van Maanen and Sutton both had redshirt seasons last year going 7-7 & 10-8 respectively. The eventual starter will be replacing Kyle Gliva who went 20-12 last season and didn’t qualify for the tournament.
157 – Franek (Fr) <West Fargo, ND>
Incoming freshman Jared Franek (4-time North Dakota state champion) will be taking over for 4-time NCAA qualifier Clay Ream (1-2 in 2018, 0-2 in 2017, 1-2 @149 in 2016, 1-2 @149 in 2015).
165 – Fogarty (Jr) <Scott West, MN>
Two-time qualifier (1-2 in 2018, 1-2 in 2017) Andrew Fogarty had a 30-12 record last season.
174 – De La Riva (Jr) <Folsom, CA>
De La Riva transfers in from CSU-Bakersfield (he’s going to have climate shock). He went 12-12 last year for the Roadrunners @165 and didn’t qualify for the tournament (he did qualify in 2017 @165, going 0-2). He will probably take over for last year’s starter Dylan Urbach (Sr) who went 5-10.
184 – McNutt (Sr) <Benton, MO> or maybe someone else
Four different wrestlers got starts @184 last year for NDSU. Charley Popp (Sr) finished the season as the starter with a 5-9 record. Tyler McNutt was the starter from 2017 and began last year as the starter. The combined record of the 4 starters in duals was 2-15. Incoming freshman Noah Cressell <Wabash, IN> may have an opportunity here to start.
197 – Eaton (Jr) <North Scott, IA>
Two-year starter Cordell Eaton went 17-15 last year and didn’t qualify for the tournament.
Heavy – Stribal (Jr) <Bon Homme, SD> or Metz (Fr) <West Fargo, ND>
Dan Stribal went 21-14 last year as the starter but didn’t qualify for the tournament. Brandon Metz went 13-4 in his redshirt season. His most notable win was a pin of David Jensen of Nebraska.
NDSU returns 3 out of their 4 qualifiers last year and adds a former qualifier. While NDSU isn’t a threat to pass up Minnesota quite yet, they are a young team that could improve upon their 3 points from the 2018 tournament this year and next year.
125 – Fleetwood (Sr) <Smyrna, DE> or Bianchi (So) <Two Rivers, WI> edit: So, not Fr
Brent Fleetwood transferred in from Central Michigan. He was a 2-time qualifier for CMU (0-2 in 2017, 1-2 in 2016). Bianchi was the starter last year going 24-15 on the season and 0-2 in the tournament. (Neither have a redshirt left to use.)
133 – Sykora (Jr) <Wheaton, MN>
Two-time qualifier (1-2 in 2018, 1-2 in 2017) Cam Sykora had a 23-12 season record. He transferred from South Dakota State before the 16/17 season.
141 – Midkiff (So) <Thomas Jefferson, IA>, Hampton (So) <Blue Springs South, MO> or Nein (So) <Bismarck, ND>
There are several wrestlers at this weight that could end up as the starter. Last year, true freshman McGwire Midkiff jumped from 133 to become the starter (11-15 season record) replacing Sam Hampton who had a 5-7 record (1-5 in duals). Taylor Nein (So) was the starter as a true freshman in 2017 and had a 10-17 record (he redshirted last year).
149 – Van Maanen (Fr) <La Crosse, WI> or Sutton (Fr) <Richmond-Burton, IL>
Van Maanen and Sutton both had redshirt seasons last year going 7-7 & 10-8 respectively. The eventual starter will be replacing Kyle Gliva who went 20-12 last season and didn’t qualify for the tournament.
157 – Franek (Fr) <West Fargo, ND>
Incoming freshman Jared Franek (4-time North Dakota state champion) will be taking over for 4-time NCAA qualifier Clay Ream (1-2 in 2018, 0-2 in 2017, 1-2 @149 in 2016, 1-2 @149 in 2015).
165 – Fogarty (Jr) <Scott West, MN>
Two-time qualifier (1-2 in 2018, 1-2 in 2017) Andrew Fogarty had a 30-12 record last season.
174 – De La Riva (Jr) <Folsom, CA>
De La Riva transfers in from CSU-Bakersfield (he’s going to have climate shock). He went 12-12 last year for the Roadrunners @165 and didn’t qualify for the tournament (he did qualify in 2017 @165, going 0-2). He will probably take over for last year’s starter Dylan Urbach (Sr) who went 5-10.
184 – McNutt (Sr) <Benton, MO> or maybe someone else
Four different wrestlers got starts @184 last year for NDSU. Charley Popp (Sr) finished the season as the starter with a 5-9 record. Tyler McNutt was the starter from 2017 and began last year as the starter. The combined record of the 4 starters in duals was 2-15. Incoming freshman Noah Cressell <Wabash, IN> may have an opportunity here to start.
197 – Eaton (Jr) <North Scott, IA>
Two-year starter Cordell Eaton went 17-15 last year and didn’t qualify for the tournament.
Heavy – Stribal (Jr) <Bon Homme, SD> or Metz (Fr) <West Fargo, ND>
Dan Stribal went 21-14 last year as the starter but didn’t qualify for the tournament. Brandon Metz went 13-4 in his redshirt season. His most notable win was a pin of David Jensen of Nebraska.
NDSU returns 3 out of their 4 qualifiers last year and adds a former qualifier. While NDSU isn’t a threat to pass up Minnesota quite yet, they are a young team that could improve upon their 3 points from the 2018 tournament this year and next year.
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