Wrestling season is upon us.
Saturday marks the beginning of a 19-week grind toward the NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Well, at least for a handful of Wisconsin wrestlers.
Seniors Isaac Jordan (165 pounds) and Connor Medbery (HWT) begin their final campaigns at the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jordan, the second-ranked wrestler at his weight according to InterMat, was a national runner-up at 165 pounds a season ago. He will take on No.3 Daniel Lewis of Missouri in the 165-pound bout.
Lewis was redshirt sophomore was Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year a season ago, claiming the MAC title at 165 and achieving All-American status with a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Tournament. Jordan and Lewis have never faced one another.
Meanwhile, Medbery, fresh off an Olympic redshirt season, will go toe-to-toe with Virginia Tech’s Ty Walz in the heavyweight match. Walz is a three-time NCAA qualifier and two-time All-American. He placed fourth at the NCAA Tournament in 2016.
Medbery begins the season as the nation’s third-ranked heavyweight, while Walz is ranked second.
This year marks just the fourth time ever, and the first since 1980, that a pair of Badgers wrestlers were selected for the event. In total, 22 UW grapplers have participated throughout the 51 years of the Classic’s existence.
Badgers sending contingent to Pointer Open
Head coach Barry Davis announced in his weekly “Tuesdays with Barry” segment that seven Badgers wrestlers will be competing is Saturday’s Pointer Open at UW-Stevens Point.
The tentative entries included:
141: Patrick Spray
149: Zander Wick
157: Evan Wick, Izaec Quintanilla, Jared Donar, Rylan Lubek, Jared Scharenbrock
165: Jacob Covaciu
197: Mason Reinhart
HWT: Brady Wetter, Ben Stone
Davis added, “We will be using this tournament to help determine a couple weights for which athletes we will be taking to the Wolfpack Open at NC State later this month.”
Jimenez to redshirt
UW officials confirmed earlier this week that junior 125-pounder Johnny Jimenez is taking a redshirt this season.
Jimenez posted an 18-15 record last year en route to his first appearance at the NCAA Tournament. He is 23-24 in his two-year career.
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