NCAA Wrestling Championships Preview: 133 lbs
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The 133 lb weight class at the NCAA Championships is one of the more interesting ones, and one with some of the most questionable seeding at the top. It is also one of only three weight classes where a Penn State wrestler isn't the No. 1 seed. Instead, Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State) is No. 1 with an undefeated season. Is he the likeliest champion? Not at all. So let's dive into the bracket and see what all of the fuss is about.
Favorites: Jax Forrest (Oklahoma State), Ben Davino (Ohio State), Marcus Blaze (Penn State), Aaron Seidel (Virginia Tech)
The top four seeds in this weight class (listed above in order by seed) are all really good. Also, if we're being honest, the seeding here is wrong. Yes, Forrest is undefeated on the season. But he has nowhere near the same collection of wins as Davino or Blaze do. Davino and Blaze should be the top two seeds. They've each lost one match this year––to each other. Blaze won their matchup in the dual meet in tiebreakers, while Davino avenged that loss in the tiebreaks in the Big Ten final. The fact that these two will meet in a semifinal instead of the final is very unfortunate.
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Forrest is undefeated, and I don't expect anyone to come close to him before the semifinal. In the semis, he'll likely meet Seidel. Seidel has lost exactly one match match this year: a 10-9 battle against Forrest in February. They should meet again, and the next match could go either way.
These four are the cream of the crop in this weight class. It would take a major upset for them not to be the four semifinalists.
Ohio State's Wrestler: Ben Davino
Davino is an elite freshmen, whose only loss on the year came against Blaze. He should be a heavy favorite in his first match, against Gable Strickland (Lock Haven). No. 7 seed Lucas Byrd (Illinois) is his toughest potential quarterfinal opponent, and I don't expect him to give Davino too much trouble. Byrd is the defending NCAA Champion, but that took an incredible run at the NCAAs last year to happen. Byrd hasn't been wrestling at nearly that level this year, though. No, it would take a big surprise to see anyone beat Davino before he meets Blaze in the semifinal.
Sleeper: Blake Boarman (Purdue)
Unlike in other weight classes, I don't think Boarman has a chance to win this tournament. As I said before, it would stun me if any of the top four seeds lose before the semifinals. Boarman is peaking at the right time, though. I have him putting No. 9 seed Dominick Serrano (Northern Colorado) on upset alert in the first round, and he might even be able to pull off another upset or two before running into Forrest.
Other Previews:
Heavyweight (Nick Feldman)
197 lbs (Luke Geog)
184 lbs (Dylan Fishback)
174 lbs (Carson Kharchla)
165 lbs (Paddy Gallagher)
157 lbs (Brandon Cannon)
149 lbs (Ethan Stiles)
125 lbs (Nic Bouzakis)
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: NCAA Wrestling Championships Preview: 133 lbs