Grappler Fall Classic - 145-171 Preview
145 through 171 (and really 189) should feature some outstanding SE matches (some possibly happening in the finals). Like your children - you aren’t supposed to have a favorite, but this quartet of weights might be my favorite of the bunch. These weights promise to be fireworks.
Ohio’s Alek Martin headlines 145, but it is far from a one-man show. Cali’s Henry Porter is the #2 pre-seed and is outstanding. The SE brings a ton of quality to 145 including Garrison Dendy, Michael Kilic, and os many others. Don’t be surprised to see any of the bottom 4 beat someone above them … this weight class is that deep. Christian Moder looked great 2 weekends ago at the Georgia Super 32 Early Entry Tournament, but was a no-show last weekend in Florida (despite being registered) … will he be in Myrtle Beach this weekend?
Tons of ranked wrestlers including 3 from the SE (and 4 if we consider Virginia … which I totally understand - just not in my coverage area). Weston vs. Vafiadis, Weston vs. Abon, or how bout Munro vs. Vafiadis … any are possible. Add in Michigan’s Swiderski and Johnson as well as a pair of Florida hammers in Lucas Willis and Darian Estevez and there is no easy path at 152. I’d venture a guess that Paradice is out after landing on his head last weekend at the Florida Super 32 Early Entry Tournament (get better Jeremy), but the depth from the SE doesn’t suffer at all with Bowers, Diaz, Hurst, etc.
Two Michigan hammers headline 160 with Stoney Buell and Josh Barr. Add in Texas hammer Aaron Lofton and South Dakota’s Isaac Klinkhammer and you have to jump down to the 5th pre-seed before getting an SE hammer - Gavin Cagle of McCallie. I’ve seen both Cagle and Morlacci (PA) wrestle and if the 4 above them are seeded “correctly” this is going to be a very tough weight. The bottom 8 pre-seeds are littered with SE talent … I could say “keep an eye on” any of the SE hammers on the right because they all have the ability to cause chaos.
When looking at the pre-seeds and the registration the first thing that popped out to me was the possibility of a Gabe Arnold vs. Matty Singleton final at 171. We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves because Rojas is an absolute stud and 5-8 pre-seeds are outstanding. But Arnold and Singleton are both top 5 guys and have worked out a bit this summer (I’ve seen some of the highlights). If we get that (and not saying we will because it wouldn’t surprise me if Singleton were down at 160), but if we do it will be lights out. Like 160 - the SE talent on the right side of the graphic is outstanding and will be ready to wreck the party for any of the top 8.
189-285 plus the Girls will drop tomorrow morning