2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships 174 Weight Class Preview

And there can only be one…

174 sports two undefeated wrestlers headed for a showdown, but both will have to navigate a pretty tough field.

Cornell’s #1 Mack Lewnes (36-0) has had a stellar season and his record shows it, but on the bottom half of the bracket we find another undefeated wrestler in Iowa’s #2 Jay Borschel (32-0).

Should be very exciting if they meet up that’s for sure.

This weight is loaded with potential road blocks for these two and should prove to be a pretty exciting weight. We will jump right into the round by round preview as there are numerous interesting match ups.

Round 1

Well right off the bat Lewnes has a tough draw with unseeded Nate Lee (15-5) of Boise state. Lee is solid and should be a good early test for Lewnes, but we see him winning and moving forward.

The next one comes with our other undefeated wrestler when Borschel will meet unseeded Scott Giffin (23-5) from Penn. Look for Giffin to push Borschel, but we see Borschel coming out of this tough early round match up.

Round 2

#8 seed Colby Covington (38-5) of Oregon State squares of against Purdue’s #9 Luke Manuel (38-4) is what should be a good match. Covington has been very good as of late and we expect him to continue that in this match.

Another good match this round will be when #5 Scott Glasser (30-6) of Minnesota meets up with #12 Bagna Tovuujav (30-8). This should be a good match but Glasser has been wrestling well with the exception of his matches against Borschel. Look to see Glasser move into the quarter finals.

Round 3 (Quarterfinals)

Up top we anticipate seeing Lewnes vs. Covington. Lewnes will be pushed by yet another tough Pac 10 opponent, but should come through this one as well.

Next up should be Glasser and Nebraska’s #4 Stephen Dwyer (24-3). Although we see Glasser closing the gap of their first match earlier in the season, we see Dwyer walking out with the win.

#3 Chris Henrich (29-2) of Virginia walks out against Oklahoma State’s #6 seed Mike Benefiel (31-4). This is a great match up and should have some sparks. We are going with the slight upset and picking Benefiel to advance.

In the final match of the round we believe we will see Borschel and Bennett stepping out. Borschel has been lights out and Bennett is one tough freshman. Borschel wins one closer then most would expect.

Round 4 (Semifinals)

Lewnes and Dwyer meet in the first semifinal and it should be another great match for the fans. Look for a tight hard fought match and Lewnes getting his hand raised when the dust settles.

In the bottom we find Borschel and Benefiel. They have met in the past with Borschel coming out on top and we do not see that changing here.

Finals

Well, we get the match up of the two undefeated wrestlers and as we said at the start, there can only be one.

Lewnes vs. Borschel

From all perspectives this match is a toss up. But we can not just leave you hanging like that and of course we have to make some kind of prediction. I have gone back and forth on this one and here it is. Lewnes in a very close one.

Dark horses

1. Scott Giffin (Penn)
2. Nate Lee (Boise State)
3. Phil Moricone (Edinboro)

TOM’s Picks

1. Lewnes
2. Borschel
3. Dwyer