Takedown Report

Mid-season NCAA Div. I Report: the most surprising ranked wrestlers per weight class

By Mike Willis, USA Wrestling | Jan. 11, 2019,

Every year there are wrestlers who bust into the national rankings that no one saw coming. Ranging from unheralded freshmen to fifth-year seniors who jumped levels, there are always wrestlers who greatly exceed their preseason expectations. In addition to those wrestlers, there are also individuals who weren’t expected to be starters that find themselves in the lineup and the national rankings. Now that the holiday tournaments are over and most wrestlers have a sizeable body of work for the season, we will take a weight-by-weight look at the most surprising ranked wrestlers. *Note we are using FloWrestling’s rankings as of 1/7/2019
125           #5 Jack Mueller, Jr. (Virginia)
As a true freshman, Mueller finished sixth in the 125-pound weight class two seasons ago. Last year, he finished in the round of 12 at 133 pounds. Seeing Mueller back at 125 is a surprise in its own right. Even more surprising, however, is that Mueller is competing attached at all. Virginia announced prior to the season that Mueller would be redshirting and focus on preparing for the U23 World Championships, where he ended up placing fifth. However, the plans changed when UVA’s starting 125 pounder Louie Hayes bumped up to 133. Mueller is 5-0 this season but hasn’t wrestled any ranked competition yet.
Read to rest of the list at https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2019/January/11/Willis-NCAA-mid-season-report?mc_cid=dd084dda5b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

January 21, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized