NCAA Wrestling Championships: 149 Pound Preview – 2021
The NCAA Wrestling Championships are just a few days away. I am breaking down the tournament weight by weight. I broke down the 125, 133, and 141-pound weight classes already, and now is the time for the NCAA wrestling preview for 149. Let’s get into it.
The Story
There are four undefeated wrestlers in this bracket. Big Ten Champion Sammy Sasso from Ohio State is the top seeded wrestler at this weight. Austin O’Connor won the ACC Championship and is the number two seed. PJ Ogunsanya is the 16 seed despite boasting a 9-0 record for Army this season.
Brock Mauller from Mizzou is the three seed, and won’t have to face off with Sasso until the finals because they are on opposite sides of the bracket. Bryce Andonian from Virginia Tech gave O’Connor a great match in the ACC finals, he lost in 10-8 and is the 6 seed at the NCAA tournament.
Dark Horse(s)
Max Murin from Iowa earned a tournament birth despite going 0-2 at the Big Ten Championships. I wouldn’t be surprised if rattled off a few wins in a row to sneak into the quarterfinals.
Joshua Heil from Campbell is another wrestle to keep an eye on. Coach Kolat is a legend in the wrestling community and I can see him having his wrestlers ready to go for the big tournament.
Early Round Matches to Watch
PJ Ogunsanya from Army is the 16 seed, meaning he will square off against Sasso in the 2nd round of the tournament. The two undefeated wrestlers will meet very early in the tournament, making it an early round match to watch.
Prediction
Bryce Andonian is going to make the semi-finals and get his rematch vs O’Connor. We are going to get a 6 seed and 2 seed match to determine who is going to wrestle on the main stage Saturday night.
I think the top half of the bracket ends up playing out to their seeds for the most part. I got Sasso and O’Connor in the finals. It would be great for the up-and-coming program of North Carolina to get a national champ here, but I think Sasso wins for the Buckeyes.
TL//DR: NCAA Wrestling Preview for the 149 pound weight class
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