James Hackney
#13 Mizzou
Mizzou is coming off their 11th conference title in a row and will look to carry that momentum to finish in the top 10 again for the 7th year in a row. With nine qualifiers and four wrestlers seeded within the top 12, the Tigers should be able to compete with the top teams. After a tougher Big 12 season a few of their records and seeds have taken some hits but will hopefully have sharpened the team to overperform their seeds. However, even with some of the lower seeds, I think there is a path to making it far in the tournament and possibly making the podium.
125lbs: #20 Noah Surtin (19-7) – 18 Seed
Surtin comes in as the exact same seed he was last year, but this time he has a lot more experience. He had a rough Big 12’s, finishing 7th, but still earned an At-Large bid as he has wins over the 14, 19, 20, 24, and 26 seeds. He will start out looking for revenge against Brody Teske, who pinned him in the dual in the third period of a tied match. I think Surtin can win that match, but he will need to be more effective on top and neutral than he has been lately. If he does win, he’ll run into the 2 seed Vito Arujau. However, if he loses first round, then he’d see the 31 seed in the wrestlebacks. Either way, he’d likely see either 17 seed Anthony Noto who is 29-1 this season, or 16 seed Drew Hildebrandt who beat him 6-1 last season. I think Surtin is talented and could go on a run, but he will need to get back to how he looked earlier in the season and open up more than he has lately.
Prediction: DNP
