photo courtesy of SCSU athletics
2021 NCAA Division II Men’s National Wrestling Championship
The 2021 NCAA Division II National Championships will take place March 12th and 13th from the America's Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, Missouri. Our own Bryce Villa has provided previews for each and every weight class over the past few days. Here are the previous previews, followed by 197-285 lbs.
125-141 Preview
149-157 Preview
165-184 Preview
197
#1 Ryan Vasbinder (McKendree) 2X AA (2019, 2020)
#2 Noah Ryan (St. Cloud State) AA (2020)
#3 Nicholas Mason (Tiffin) 2X AA (2019, 2020)
#4 Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) AA (2020)
#5 Logan Kemp (West Liberty)
#7 Jackson Ryan (SMSU)
#8 Joseph Reimers (Nebraska-Kearney)
#9 Donald Negus (Colorado Mesa)
#10 Darius Parker (Lander)
#12 Joel Leise (Gannon)
#13 Zac Ryg (Upper Iowa)
#14 Luke McGonigal (Mercyhurst) AA (2020)
Bryce Walker (UNC-Pembroke)
Chris Droege (Lake Erie)
Ask me if I am excited to get to see Ryan Vasbinder (McKendree) and Nicholas Mason (Tiffin) wrestle in the national finals. Seriously, ask me. Yes! They were a semifinal prediction last season, but now we will get to see them on the biggest stage. The returning national champion Mason will take on the most dominant 197-pound wrestler over the last two seasons. Zac Ryg (Upper Iowa) did a great job of ensuring that he earned a seed in this tournament after finishing with a perfect NSIC season and winning the Super Regional V title over Noah Ryan (St Cloud State). That was bad news for Noah Ryan; the NWCA All-American was thrown into the blind draw and starts his day off against Ryan Vasbinder. Win or lose, his day can only get easier from there. I will do my best not to make an “Other Guys” joke every time Upper Iowa sends out an athlete, but let’s be honest, I will break down and post at least one more. Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) fell to Vasbinder 2-0 in the Super Regional IV finals and is back to the tournament looking for his first picture on the podium. Darius Parker (Lander) made history when he made the Super Regional II finals for the Bearcats and then he did it again when he won the tournament. He is the first national qualifier and super-regional champion in program history and head coach RC LaHaye is building something special in the south. Joel Leise (Gannon) has bumped up a weight class and still made the national tournament for the loaded Knights squad. Donald Negus (Colorado Mesa) helped his own cause when he beat Joseph Reimers in the Super Regional VI finals and he is the sixth-seed while Reimers drew in against Logan Kemp (West Liberty). Logan Kemp has beaten Nicholas Mason in the past, but in their last meeting, it was all Mason. Kemp is big for the Hilltoppers team race hopes; they need him to put up not just placing points but bonus as well. Bryce Walker (UNC-Pembroke) is actually a tough draw for Luke McGonigal in the first round and if one of them comes out slow, it could be a rough start. McGonigal won his second Super Regional title and will face the ageless Bryce Walker, who has returned to the Pembroke lineup after a hiatus. Jackson Ryan (SMSU) is going to have to find a way to win a big match or possibly two if he wants to make the jump to All-American, but he is very capable of it.
Quarterfinals
Ryan Vasbinder (McKendree) vs. Logan Kemp (West Liberty)
Zac Ryg (Upper Iowa) vs. Luke McGonigal (Mercyhurst)
Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) vs. Donald Negus (Colorado Mesa)
Joel Leise (Lake Erie) vs. Nicholas Mason (Tiffin)
Logan Kemp has to be asking what he did in a past life to deserve this. Sure he got away from Nicholas Mason in the bracket, but that just landed him in the path of Ryan Vasbinder. Vasbinder seems to have struggled in the past with unorthodox wrestlers, though and Kemp has the ability to score from anywhere, so this is far from a foregone conclusion. Zac Ryg is really good and I think that the rest of the nation is going to get to see it this weekend. He is a fearless athlete who has fun on the mat and really works hard to score points quickly. He takes on a wrestler in Luke McGonigal, who has a lot of experience, though and who has since transferring from Lock Haven been a hammer in the Mercyhurst lineup. His last Division II loss was in December of 2019. Dalton Abney wrestled about as good a match as can be had against Ryan Vasbinder and it was still not enough. He will face Donald Negus, the Mesa wrestler who has won seven of his last eight matches by bonus and avenged an early-season loss to Joseph Reimers when he won the Super Regional VI championship. I said it in a Tweet last week, but I will say it again. When Nicholas Mason goes on a tear, I am not sure anyone in the country can beat him. He is on one of those right now. He has six falls in seven wins and just pinned his way through his Super Regional tournament. Good luck Joel Leise.
Semifinals
Ryan Vasbinder (McKendree) vs. Luke McGonigal (Mercyhurst)
Dalton Abney (Central Oklahoma) vs. Nicholas Mason (Tiffin)
Nicholas Mason taking on Dalton Abney is a battle of styles. If this match becomes a shoot-out, look out, the Tiffin Dragon senior is dangerous from anywhere. It will be up to Abney to keep great position and capitalize on any unsound fundamentals that Mason may expose. The athletes who have beaten Mason in the past have done so by capitalizing on his own aggressive nature. Ryan Vasbinder will face a very large, very strong, very good Luke McGonigal on his own side of the bracket. This will be a battle of wills with the wrestler able to impose his style and be able to earn the victory. Vasbinder seems to struggle with unorthodox wrestlers and McGonigal, for all his abilities, is exactly what coaches want. Prototypical. That is not unorthodox, though, and that favors Vasbinder.
Finals
Ryan Vasbinder (McKendree) vs. Nicholas Mason (Tiffin)
I want this. Everyone wants this. This is the match that we wanted in 2020 and waiting a season has only made it all the sweeter. Ryan Vasbinder taking on Nicholas Mason. The last time they met was in 2019 and Mason came away with the win by fall. I have a photo of the two of them facing off in the hotel lobby last year and finally, we see it. I do not want to make a prediction; I just want to watch these two wrestle. I do not care!
Top Eight
1a Ryan Vasbinder - McKendree University
1b Nicholas Mason - Tiffin University
3. Luke McGonigal - Mercyhurst University
4. Dalton Abney - Central Oklahoma University
5. Logan Kemp - West Liberty University
6. Donald Negus - Colorado Mesa University
7. Joseph Reimers - University of Nebraska-Kearney
8. Zac Ryg - Upper Iowa University
Hwt
#1 Kameron Teacher (St. Cloud State) 3X AA (2017, 2018, 2019)
#3 Jared Rennick (Drury) AA (2020)
#4 Tristen Weirich (Ashland) 2X AA (2019, 2020)
#5 Weston Hunt (Colorado-Mines) AA (2020)
#7 AJ Cooper (Fort Hays State)
#8 Steven Hajas (Augustana)
#10 Francesco Borsellino (West Liberty)
#11 Ryan Monk (UNC-Pembroke)
#13 Freddie Nixon (Gannon) AA (2020)
Cade Ridley (King)
Cameron Coffman (Lander)
Ian Kuehl (McKendree)
Lee Herrington (Nebraska-Kearney)
If you get the chance to take Kam Teacher (St Cloud State) versus the field this week, take it, Kam. The senior transfer sat out last season before joining the St Cloud lineup and blasting through the season. Jared Rennick (Drury) is the only other heavyweight to approach his level of dominance this season. Approach, not surpass. They are both undefeated and Teacher just beats his bonus rate of 50%. Steven Hajas (Augustana) has had some big wins over the past two seasons for Augustana and the Viking is headed to St Louis; maybe it being on a major waterway will help him raid some hardware from the All-American table. Tristen Weirich (Ashland) had an excellent finish to his 2019 season and then followed that up with another powerful showing in 2020. He is back to the tournament for the third straight year, looking for another All-American finish for the Eagles and big team points. Weston Hunt (Colorado-Mines) began his season with a big win over the dangerous AJ Cooper (Fort Hays State) and seemed to be sailing along smoothly until he hit Lee Herrington (Nebraska-Kearney) in the finals of the super regional tournament. Herrington came away with the win and Hunt was forced to rely on an at-large bid to make his second national tournament. AJ Cooper fell to Rennick in the super regional finals, but this season he is 12-2 with five falls; when he puts a big man on their back, it is all over. Ryan Monk (UNC-Pembroke) has just a lone loss to Francesco Borsellino (West Liberty), marring his season and the big man leads a trio of heavies from Super Regional II. He is joined by two-time national qualifier Cade Ridley (King) and Lander’s second-ever national qualifier Cameron Coffman. Ridley and Coffman will be tested early and may have to do their work in the consolation bracket. Ian Kuehl (McKendree) was a surprise at-large as well, his season features a win over Logan Radik (Maryville), but the body of work did not seem to be enough to send him to St Louis. He has a chance to make waves on the Mississippi if he can pull the early upset. Freddie Nixon (Gannon) took advantage of the weight room this offseason with the rest of his teammates and the 2020 NWCA All-American has qualified for the national tournament up a weight class. The Super Regional I champion has his work cut out for him, his day starts with Cade Ridley and then he runs smack into AJ Cooper. Francesco Borsellino (West Liberty) has seven falls in 10 wins, with five coming in the first period. The dangerous young man looks well healed from the injury that derailed him in 2020.
Quarterfinals
Kameron Teacher (St. Cloud State) vs. Francesco Borsellino (West Liberty)
AJ Cooper (Fort Hays State) vs. Freddie Nixon (Gannon)
Tristen Weirich (Ashland) vs. Lee Herrington (Nebraska-Kearney)
Weston Hunt (Colorado-Mines) vs. Jared Rennick (Drury)
Kameron Teacher is really, really good. Like three-time All-American good. Like, I really want him to come back next season so I can see him wrestle some more good. Sorry Francesco Borsellino, this may not be your time yet. He is dangerous though, expect Kameron to be business-like. AJ Cooper taking on Freddie Nixon is a battle of styles and size. Freddie Nixon is not small, but he is still an undersized heavyweight to my eye. AJ Cooper is big, strong, and athletic. This will be a very good match that has all the makings of an upset thriller. Tristen Weirich has lost 12 matches over the last three years and three of those have come to athletes in this tournament. Lee Herrington is not one of those. I think he does what needs to be done and advances. Weston Hunt probably cost himself with that loss to Herrington, but it could be worse. Jared Rennick is excellent, but his stature keeps him as a smaller heavyweight. The undersized big man will have to use angles to create attacks and if Hunt can push him around, it could be the difference.
Semifinals
Kameron Teacher (St. Cloud State) vs. AJ Cooper (Fort Hays State)
Tristen Weirich (Ashland) vs. Jared Rennick (Drury)
One of those athletes in this tournament who have beaten Tristen Weirich is Jared Rennick. They met at the Midwest Classic in the 2020 season, with Rennick earning a 10-5 decision in a takedown clinic. We will get to see what adjustments they have made over the last 15 months and if Weirich has closed the gap. Kameron Teacher is going to beat AJ Cooper, but just as he needed to be against Francesco Borsellino, he will need to keep good position. AJ Cooper can capitalize on poor fundamentals and end a match in a flash. Teacher needs to exorcise his demons from the 2019 semifinals as well; that 7-6 loss to Andrew Dunn (Kutztown) laid out the map to success against him. Two years later, we will see if Steve Costanzo has developed him into a national champion.
Finals
Kameron Teacher (St. Cloud State) vs. Jared Rennick (Drury)
Kameron Teacher is not the heavyweight you want to wrestle if you rely on speed and athleticism against larger athletes. Kameron Teacher is very big, but he is also one of the most athletic heavyweights out there. Jared Rennick will need to either score early and often, which is what Terrance Fanning and Andrew Dunn did in the past to beat Teacher. Or he is going to need to slow the match down and look for that final takedown late in the first period. Only one of those two options has ever had any success rate through. I think this is the season that Kameron Teacher finally becomes a national champion after falling short in 2019 and 2018.
Top Eight
- Kameron Teacher - St Cloud State University
- Jared Rennick - Drury University
- Tristen Weirich - Ashland University
- Weston Hunt - Colorado School of Mines
- AJ Cooper - Fort Hays State University
- Francesco Borsellino - West Liberty University
- Freddie Nixon - Gannon University
- Lee Herrington - University of Nebraska-Kearney
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