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By Adrian Troyer March 8 to 10 is conference tournament weekend in NCAA Division 1 college wrestling. This is intense in terms of medals and bragging rights--but it is arguably an even bigger deal in the national context. Every one of the 750+ college kids that takes the mat gets a shot to qualify for the biggest wrestling show in America—the NCAA Division 1 National Championships. Here is a full rundown by conference of each seed, weight class context, and advancement possibility for the 18 participants who were Indiana high school wrestlers: Atlantic Coast Conference Sunday, March 10, on ACCN and ACCN Extra (access through ESPN+) Brackets: here Connor Barket, 285, Duke (West Lafayette), redshirt freshman Seed: 5 of 6, NCAA Allocations: 2, Rank: 42 (WrestleStat, starters only) Connor has made huge strides this year as the full-time Duke starter, but he will struggle in a weight class that boasts 4 guys ranked in the Top 33 by InterMat with only 2 NCAA allocation spots available. He’ll need to first upset #13 Dayton Pitzer of Pitt (whose injury the past 2 months explains one of the missing allocation spots) in the quarterfinals before he’d also need to upset the 1-seed, #14 Owen Trephan of NC State, to reach the final and an NCAA bid. NCAA Prospectus: Not likely. Southern Conference Saturday, March 9, on ESPN+ Brackets: here Blake Boarman, 133, Tennessee-Chattanooga (Ev. Mater Dei), redshirt sophomore Seed: 3 of 8, NCAA Allocations: 3, Rank: 31 (InterMat) Blake has burst onto the scene this year in his move down from 141 to 133. He’s ranked in all the national services and earned one of his conference’s allocation spots. He’ll start his tournament against the 6-seed, George Rosas of The Citadel, who he beat, 9-1, in the dual. He’d then likely see the 2-seed, Ethan Oakley of App State, who he upset by fall in the dual in his biggest win of the year. A win there would earn an automatic NCAA bid. A loss would put him into the wrestle-backs needing to get 3rd for an automatic bid. Awaiting him there could be a potential matchup with the 5-seed Dyson Dunham of VMI, who handed Blake his only unranked loss of the season, 7-4. Even if Blake were to place 4th or 5th at this tournament, his regular season and current ranking would give him a good chance of an at-large NCAA berth. NCAA Prospectus: Very likely Brodie Porter, 174, The Citadel (Eastern-Greentown), sophomore Seed: 5 of 8, NCAA Allocations: 1, Rank: 61 (WrestleStat, starters only) Brodie has become a very solid Division 1 competitor in his second year as the starter. Sadly, he’s had two bad losses in-conference—one by Technical Fall to the 4-seed, Uliano of App State, and the other 17-4 to the 1-seed, #19 Murphy of Campbell—and those are the exact two guys he needs to beat to make the final and a shot at the 1st Place that an NCAA bid demands here. He’s got a winning record and only tight losses in his other conference matches, so he could legitimately fight for a top 3 spot in the league. NCAA Prospectus: Not likely Hayden Watson, 157, The Citadel (Center Grove), redshirt freshman Seed: 4 of 8, NCAA Allocations: 1, Rank: 48 (WrestleStat, starters only) Hayden is a sleeper to get to the NCAA tournament. Like his teammate Porter, he has won about half of his D1 matches this year. However, Hayden’s beaten or been very close with every guy in the bracket—including losing only 12-9 in sudden victory to the 1-seed, #22 Askey of App State. To get to that semifinal, he first needs to knock off the 5-seed, Heck of Chattanooga, who he beat 7-4 during the regular season. NCAA Prospectus: Dark horse longshot Andrew Wilson, 165, Gardner-Webb (Cathedral), redshirt sophomore Seed: 6 of 8, NCAA Allocations: 2, Rank: 72 (WrestleStat, starters only) Andrew has struggled to string together very many wins in his second year as the G-W starter. He’ll open with the 3-seed, Haubert of The Citadel, who majored him 13-1 during the year. Sadly, Wilson isn’t quite on the level of the top several guys here, so he’ll be looking to make some noise in terms of placement and improvement. NCAA Prospectus: Very unlikely Big Ten Conference Saturday/Sunday, March 9-10, on the Big Ten Network and BTN+ Brackets: here Silas Allred, 197, Nebraska (Shenandoah), redshirt sophomore Seed: 4 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 13 (InterMat) With a good seed, a high ranking ensuring an at-large fallback berth, and plenty of slots available; Silas obviously has his sights set higher than an NCAA berth this weekend. He’ll be looking to generate some of that Big 10 magic he produced during a title run last year, while building confidence for an All-American run at nationals. He’ll start this tournament against Striggow of Michigan, who he dominated this season, before a potential matchup with #20 Garrett Joles of Minnesota in the quarterfinals. Silas beat Joles, 4-1 in sudden victory, during the season. NCAA Prospectus: Certain, barring injury Evan Bates, 197, Northwestern (Chesterton), redshirt sophomore Seed: 8 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 34 (WrestleStat, starters only) In terms of seed, Evan is right outside the cut line for getting an automatic bid at this weight. He would be clearly in the conversation for an at-large bid with his Coaches’ Rank and RPI numbers being in the Top 33, but it sure would be nice to place in the Top 7 here and seal it. He’ll start with 9-seed Vanadia of Purdue, who he beat, 11-4, in the dual. Even though he’d almost certainly fall then to #1 Brooks of Penn St. in the quarterfinals, that first round win would go a long way in keeping him in a good bracketed spot to eventually face 6-seed Geog of Ohio St. and 7-seed Poznanski of Rutgers in potential NCAA bid-winning matches. NCAA Prospectus: Fifty-fifty Brody Baumann, 174, Purdue (Ev. Mater Dei), redshirt freshman Seed: 10 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 8, Rank: 32 (InterMat) Brody has become a solid starter in his first year in the spot, but he’s got work to do to claim an NCAA bid. He’ll need to win one or two above his 10 seed depending on how the bracket and true finisher matchups come out. He lost during the year to seeds 7, 8, and 9 above him, but he gets a gigantic rematch right out of the gate with 7-seed, #15 Max Maylor of Wisconsin, who beat Brody, 19-16, in a crazy one in the dual. NCAA Prospectus: Possible, but work to do Lucas Davison, 285, Michigan (Chesterton), senior Seed: 3 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 6 (InterMat) Lucas is one of a few basically automatic qualifiers from Indiana. He would need a season-ending injury not to get a berth, one way or another. He starts with Hayden Filipovich of Purdue in Round 1 and is probably hoping for a shot to avenge his loss to 2-seed Feldman of Ohio State eventually, and to meet #1 Kerkvliet in the final. NCAA Prospectus: Certain Hayden Filipovich, 285, Purdue (Indy Lutheran), redshirt sophomore Seed: 14 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 37 (WrestleStat, starters only) Hayden actually made great strides at 184 this year and picked up a couple of very nice wins as the backup. However, stepping into Big 10s as the backup way up at 285, having only had one previous match at the weight, will be a crazy endeavor. He’ll start with fellow Indiana native, 3-seed Davison of Michigan. I’m sure Hayden’s main goal for this tournament will be continuing to build for the future. NCAA Prospectus: Far longshot Brayton Lee, 157, Indiana (Brownsburg), senior Seed: 3 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 9, Rank: 15 (InterMat) Brayton has had a fantastic comeback run here. Certainly all of Indiana will be pulling for the former Mr. Gorilla to make one final attempt at All-American glory. He starts this tournament against 14-seed Swaw of Illinois before he’d probably see the 6-seed, #20 Saldate of Michigan St. If he gets past those two, he’s most likely back at nationals. The only iffy thing here is always Lee’s health. If he has any issues and stumbles to a 12th place or something in a very deep weight class, he could get left out of the NCAA field with his very limited late-season résumé. NCAA Prospectus: Probable Diego Lemley, 141, Michigan (Chesterton), freshman Seed: 5 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 11, Rank: 10 (InterMat) We’ll give Diego honorary Indiana status here for the great one-season run he had in our tournament during the covid year (and for being from here!!). Diego is one of the breakout stars of NCAA wrestling. He’ll have many eyes on him for his style and his ability to beat anybody in the country at nationals. He starts out here versus 12-seed Clark of Purdue before a potential rematch of a high-flying, super-tight loss to 4-seed Brock Hardy of Nebraska. NCAA Prospectus: Almost certain Jesse Mendez, 141, Ohio St. (Crown Point), sophomore Seed: 2 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 11, Rank: 2 (InterMat) Jesse has evolved into a true title contender this year. He’ll be happy with nothing less than a championship in a couple of weeks. He gets a shot here at his first Big 10 title, and to resume the wars at this brutal Big 10 weight class. He’ll probably get 7-seed Moore of Rutgers in the quarterfinals after his first-round bye. NCAA Prospectus: Certain Cayden Rooks, 133, Indiana (Columbus East), senior Seed: 10 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 57 (WrestleStat, starters only) Cayden has held down the fort admirably for a long time now, so he’ll be hoping to go out with a bang. He’ll most likely need two clear upsets to get an automatic spot. An at-large spot won’t be possible. He starts with the 7-seed, #17 Braxton Brown, who beat him handily during the year. An upset would be put him clearly in the conversation. If he loses that one, it will be a serious uphill climb. NCAA Prospectus: Unlikely Graham Rooks, 149, Indiana (Columbus East), senior Seed: 8 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 9, Rank: 13 (InterMat) Graham’s back, hoping to make another run and to get over the hump to All-American status at nationals. For this tournament, he’ll be aiming to at least hold serve and get one of the 9 automatic berths. He starts with the 9-seed, Roberts of Minnesota, before a potential matchup with the very tough 1-seed, Ridge Lovett of Nebraska. NCAA Prospectus: Almost certain Gabe Sollars, 197, Indiana, (Ev. Mater Dei), sophomore Seed: 10 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 33 (InterMat) Gabe put himself on the map this year, basically pinning everyone in sight for the first half of the season. He still sits near the top of the national pin leaderboard. In terms of wins and losses, he’s been impressive, but this weight is another stacked one. He’s right on that cut line with Evan Bates and a couple other guys. His first match against 7-seed Poznanski of Rutgers feels like a must-win toward getting one of those 7 automatic berths, or to at least come very close so he can be in the at-large conversation. If he won he’d face the 2-seed, #4 Jaxon Smith of Maryland, in the quarterfinals. NCAA Prospectus: Fifty-fifty DJ Washington, 174, Indiana (Portage), redshirt junior Seed: 8 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 8, Rank: 25 (InterMat) DJ started the season as strong as ever and looking like an All-American candidate. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been himself lately, so he’ll be looking to right the ship off of the long pre-tournament layoff. He’s right on the cut line for the automatic bid, but he probably has a small bit of cord to play with because of his ranking numbers if he falls outside the Top 8 here. He’ll look to wrap up the bid here, though, starting with the 9-seed, #30 Sparks of Minnesota. He'd then have #1-ranked Starocci in an exciting potential quarterfinal matchup. NCAA Prospectus: Probable Nick Willham, 285, Indiana (Greenwood), senior Seed: 6 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 36 (WrestleStat, starters only) Nick has stepped up admirably into the 285 slot at IU. He’s flirted with the edge of the rankings, but he’s just outside at the moment. It will be a war for those number 5 to 12 placements at this weight, where anyone involved could go to nationals or be biting their fingernails hoping for an at-large bid. Nick starts off with 11-seed Jessen of Northwester, who he just edged in a very tight one, 2-1, a couple of weeks ago. If he wins, he’ll be breathing slightly more easily and head to a likely matchup with Lucas Davison. NCAA Prospectus: Fifty-fifty