2014-15 NCAA DIVISION I PREVIEW
Plenty of storylines to follow this season
By Craig Sesker It has been a magical four-year run for
the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State captured four straight Big
Ten titles and four straight NCAA titles with Coach Cael Sanderson and super- star athletes Ed Ruth and David Taylor leading the way. Ruth and Taylor combined to win five
NCAA and eight Big Ten crowns in their remarkable careers. Now Penn State transitions to life with-
out Ruth and Taylor, and it opens the door for a number of programs to take aim at the 2015 NCAA team title in late March in St. Louis. Minnesota, which finished a very close
second to Penn State at the 2014 NCAA tournament, is considered by many to be the preseason favorite. Iowa, Cornell, Ohio State, Penn State
and Oklahoma State also should be in the national mix this season. The biggest storyline this season will
involve Ohio State senior standout Logan Stieber, who is looking to become just the fourth wrestler to capture four NCAA titles.
Oklahoma’s Pat Smith, Iowa State’s
Cael Sanderson and Cornell’s Kyle Dake are the only wrestlers to achieve the rare four title feat. College wrestling continues to thrive
and that was evident with 2014 NCAA champions Ed Ruth and Tony Ramos making the U.S. World Team in freestyle wrestling this year. Here is a weight-by-weight breakdown
of the 2014-15 season: 125 pounds
This remains a very competitive weight
class with the top four NCAA finishers back from last year. Illinois senior Jesse Delgado is the
favorite after winning the last two NCAA titles in this weight class. Delgado edged returning runner-up Nahshon Garrett of Cornell in the finals this past March. Penn State’s Nico Megaludis placed
12 USA Wrestler
Two-time NCAA champion Jesse Delgado of Illinois enters his senior season ranked No. 1 nationally at 125 pounds. John Sachs photo.
third last year after being the runner-up in this division in 2012 and 2013. Megaludis could redshirt this season. Missouri All-American Alan Waters is
also back in this class after redshirting last year. All-Americans Joey Dance of Virginia Tech, Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa, Darian Cruz of Lehigh and Earl Hall of Iowa State also return. Iowa’s Thomas Gilman, a starter for
much of his freshman season before los- ing his starting spot to eventual All- American Cory Clark, also is back at 125. Gilman won a bronze medal at the 2014
Junior World Championships. Clark is expected to move up to 133 for
his sophomore campaign in Iowa City. 133 pounds
This weight class could be interesting
with the top three placewinners from 2014 having finished their eligibility. Edinboro’s A.J. Schopp, a returning fourth-place finisher, may be the favorite. All-Americans Mason Beckman of Lehigh and Cody Brewer of Oklahoma also are back.
Iowa’s Cory Clark, fifth at 125 last sea- Continued on page 13
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