NCAA Wrestling Championship Prediction: 149 LBS
It’s that time of the year again people! MARCH MATNESS! That’s right I said MATness, not madness. The college wrestling postseason is right around the corner and it has been one hell of a season so far. I will be doing a count down the next two weeks of my picks of which wrestler is going to take the crown at each of the 10 weight classes in Minneapolis, Minnesota March 19th – March 21st. I’m so excited people you have no idea. In this article we will take a look at who I think will be standing at the top of the podium for the 149 LB division.
Chach’s Pick: Matt Kolodzik – SR Princeton
A couple weeks ago Matt Kolodzik was in the middle of preparing for this summers Olympic trials. Now, in the hopes of ending Cornell’s 17 year streak of winning the Ivy League title, Princeton has pulled the seniors Olympic Redshirt. A huge move that will undoubtedly shake up the 149 LB weight class. In his tenure as a Tiger, Kolodzik has made an incredibly strong case as the best wrestler in program history. He was the first freshman to All-American in program history in 2017 at 141 LBs when he placed 7th at nationals. The following year Kolodzik moved up to his current weight class and set the world on fire placing 3rd at 149 LBs where he beat the #2, #3, #4, and #6 seeds. Princeton’s highest place finish since 2002. Last year Kolodzik spent much of the season ranked #1 in the country before losing to future NCAA champion Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers in a must watch dual meet. Kolodzik ended his season with a 5th place showing at nationals in 2019. A very disappointing end of the season for the tiger.
This is it for Kolodzik, who is currently sitting at 10-0 and ranked #4 in the country, now that his coaches have decided to pull his redshirt. Obviously, barring injury, Kolodzik will make it to nationals where I feel he has the most experience out of the other top 5. Current #1 Sammy Sasso is a freshman, #2 Pat Lugo has only AAed one time, #3 Austin O’Connor and #5 Brock Mauller are sophomores. I feel that Kolodzik has the pedigree, he’s healthy, and he’s obviously hungry for the gold. If rankings hold strong and Sasso and Kolodzik meet in the semi-finals, I believe it has the potential to be an instant classic. Sasso is a funky and very high paced freshman from Ohio State, but I feel like the seasoned vet from NJ is ready to live up to the expectations we all had for him when he was recruited as the #1 138 LBer in the country. But then again he is an Ivy League nerd that built his own motorized bicycle. I don’t know whether that’s awesome, or a total virgin move. Either way I’m taking the Tiger! Chach out!
