D1CW's Top 50 Wrestlers for 2012: 41-50
Over the course of the next five weeks D1CW will release its list of top 50 wrestlers for the 2012-13 season.
To be considered a wrestler has to have competed officially at least one season at the collegiate level. No 2012-13 Freshman or Redshirt Freshman. Upperclassmen who are coming off of redshirt season's or are planning on redshirting in 2012-13 are eligible. Remember picking out a top 50 is not meant to be a "ranking" and the entire season is taken into consideration rather than just a bad match or two at NCAA's.
#50 Alan Waters (Missouri) 125 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Missouri Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA Round of 12 Finsher
(W) tech vs Pat Rollins (Oregon State) 15-0
(L) dec vs Anthony Zanetta (Pittsburgh) 4-2SV
(W) tech vs Garrett Frey (Princeton) 15-0
(W) dec vs Matt Snyder (Virginia) 4-1
(L) dec vs Jesse Delgado (Illinois) 5-2
2012 Big 12 Champion
(W) dec vs Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) 2-0
(W) dec vs Jarred Patterson (Oklahoma) 7-0
2012 Wins vs 2012 All-Americans: 3 (Nic Bedelyon x2, Frank Perrelli)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 16-4
Even though he was unable to get onto the All-American podium in 2011-12, Alan Waters still had an excellent season and deserves to be mentioned among the Top 50 wrestlers in the nation. In two seasons at Missouri, he is 0-2 against Pittsburgh's Anthony Zanetta, yet 68-9 against all other competitors. Two long winning streaks, one of 11 matches and another of 13, plus a Big 12 Championship helped Waters earn a #3 seed at the NCAA Tournament. Expect a huge 2012-13 from Alan as he will likely benefit from the addition of legendary lightweight coach Sammie Henson.
Photo Courtesy of Missouri Athletic Communications
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#49 Andrew Alton (Penn State) 149
Photo Courtesy of Penn State Athletic Communications
Resume:
2011 NCAA Round of 12 Finisher
(W) fall vs Anwar Goeres (Binghamton) 2:20
(W) maj vs Matt Mariacher (American) 13-4
(L) dec vs Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly) 2-0
(L) dec vs Zack Kemmerer (Penn) 5-4
2011 Big Ten 5th Place
(L) dec vs Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) 6-2
(W) tech vs Jake Fleckenstein (Purdue) 17-2
(L) dec vs Montell Marion (Iowa) 3-2
(W) dec vs Kaleb Friedley (Northwestern) 6-4
2011 Wins vs 2011 NCAA All-Americans: 2 (Zack Kemmerer x2)
Record vs 2011 NCAA Qualifiers: 9-10
Andrew Alton spent the 2011-12 season taking a redshirt, but was not forgotten by D1CW. His true Freshman season for the Nittany Lions was explosive, as he pinned in 18 of his 30 victories. Don't be decieved by his 10 losses. Nine of his ten losses came to wrestlers that placed top 5 at the NCAA Championships. The NCAA Champ, 3rd, 4th and 5th placewinners were all ahead of Alton in the Big Ten Conference. Last season while redshirting, Alton competed at 149lbs and won 11 of his 12 bouts, two of which were against NCAA Qualifiers.
Photo Courtesy of wrestlersarewarrio
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#48 Mike Evans (Iowa) 165 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Iowa Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA Qualifier
(W) dec vs Kyle Blevins (Appalachian State) 5-2
(L) dec vs PJ Gillespie (Hofstra) 3-2
(L) dec vs Ben Jordan (Wisconsin) 3-2
2012 Big Ten Runner-Up
(W) dec vs Cody Yohn (Minnesota) 5-4
(W) tech vs Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) 17-2
(L) maj vs David Taylor (Penn State) 11-2
2012 Wins vs 2012 All-Americans: 5 (Ben Jordan x2, Peter Yates, Conrad Polz, Kyle Blevins)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 13-7
Despite a letdown at the NCAA Championships, Mike Evans will still enter the 2011-12 season as one of the top contenders at 165 after the defending NCAA Champion David Taylor. In his 2011-12 Freshman campaign, Evans was the Big Ten Runner-Up to Taylor. The overall strength of Mike Evans' season can be measured by the five All-Americans the he beat over the course of his rookie year. Mike was a consistent bonus point machine for the Hawkeyes, earning at least a major decision in 15 of his 26 wins. Mike Evans 2011-12 season earned him a spot on D1CW's All-Freshman Team. 
Photo Courtesy of Iowa Athletic Communications
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#47 Jessie Delgado (Illinois) 125 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Illinois Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA 7th Place
(W) dec vs Jerome Robinson (Old Dominion) 6-2
(W) fall vs Camden Eppert (Purdue) 5:12
(L) dec vs Nic Bedelyon (Kent State) 8-5TB
(W) dec vs Alan Waters (Missouri) 5-2
(L) dec vs Ryan Mango (Stanford) 4-3
(W) dec vs Stephen Bonanno (Hofstra) 3-1
2012 Big Ten 3rd Place
(W) dec vs Levi Mele (Northwestern) 6-2
(L) dec vs Matt McDonough (Iowa) 4-3
(W) dec vs Camden Eppert (Purdue) 6-2
(W) dec vs Levi Mele (Northwestern) 6-1
2012 Wins vs 2012 All-Americans: 3 (Matt McDonough, Frank Perrelli, Stephen Bonanno)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 16-7
Jesse Delgado introduced himself to the NCAA Wrestling scene with an early season defeat of the eventual NCAA Champion Matt McDonough. It ended up being the only blemish on McDonough's 2011-12 season. Delgado was no "one-hit wonder", he opened his Freshman season with a victory at the Loras Open, placed third at the Midlands, and finished 6-2 in Big Ten competition. His 34 wins were tops on an Illini team that placed 7th at the NCAA's. In order to earn All-American honors, Jesse defeated Alan Waters the #3 seed in the Round of 12.
Photo Courtesy of Illinois Athletic Communications
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#46 Logan Storley (Minnesota) 174 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Eric Miller University of Minnesota
Resume:
2012 NCAA 6th Place
(W) maj vs Levi Clemons (Chattanooga) 11-2
(W) dec vs Lance Bryson (West Virginia) 2-0
(W) dec vs Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) 3-1
(L) tech vs Ed Ruth (Penn State) 17-2
(L) dec vs Jordan Blanton (Illinois) 1-0
(L) dec vs Nick Heflin (Ohio State) 3-2
2012 Big Ten Runner-Up
(W) maj vs Ryan LeBlanc (Indiana) 10-2
(W) dec vs Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) 6-2SV
(L) maj vs Ed Ruth (Penn State) 13-2
2012 Wins vs 2012 All-Americans: 4 (Nick Heflin, Ethen Lofthouse x3)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 12-7
How good of a season did Logan Storley have in 2011-12 as a True Freshman? He placed 6th at the NCAA Championships which was actually lower than his seed. Logan opened up his collegiate career with a tournament championship at the Daktronics Open and went 8-0 until he was sidelined with an injury. Once healthy he returned to the Gopher's lineup and placed third at the Southern Scuffle, with wins over three eventual NCAA qualifiers along the way. Storley helped earn his fourth seed at Nationals by getting to the Big Ten Finals. His semi-final bout at the Big Ten's featured a sudden victory decision over Iowa's Ethen Lofthouse, one of three wins on the season vs the Hawkeye All-American.
Photo Courtesy of Jerry E. Lee University of Minnesota
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#45 Bobby Telford (Iowa) 285 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Iowa Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA 5th Place
(W) dec vs Blayne Beale (Northern Iowa) 6-1
(W) dec vs Peter Capone (Ohio State) 4-1
(L) dec vs Zach Rey (Lehigh) 2-0
(W) dec vs Levi Cooper (Arizona State) 6-0
(W) fall vs Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) 3:46
(L) dec vs Clayton Jack (Oregon State) 2-0
(W) MedFFT vs Ryan Flores (American)
2012 Big Ten Runner-Up
(W) dec vs Pat Walker (Illinois) 2-0
(W) dec vs Ben Apland (Michigan) 6-4
(W) dec vs Cameron Wade (Penn State) 5-0
(L) dec vs Tony Nelson (Minnesota) 2-0
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 3 (Mike McMullan, Jeremy Johnson, Ryan Flores)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 13-7
My favorite random nugget of information about Bobby Telford is that he wrestled 135 as a high school Freshman and 171 as a Sophomore. How many All-American heavyweights can say that? In all seriousness, Telford's time as a lightweight has provided him with more athleticism than most of his peers at 285. Bobby's collegiate career started off with a 15-0 run that carried him to the finals of the Midlands. Telford was the first Freshman heavyweight to make the Midlands Finals since Steve Mocco did it in 2001. In order to even win a starting position for the Hawkeyes, Telford needed to unseat the defending Big Ten Champion, teammate Blake Rasing.
Photo Courtesy of Iowa Athletic Communications
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# 44 Josh Asper (Maryland) 165 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Maryland Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA 6th Place
(W) dec vs Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) 5-0
(W) dec vs Nick Sulzer (Virginia) 6-4
(W) dec vs Dom Kastl (Cal Poly) 5-2
(W) dec vs Shane Onufer (Wyoming) 5-3
(L) dec vs Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh) 5-4
(L) dec vs Kyle Blevins (Appalachian State) 5-2
(L) dec vs Peter Yates (Virginia Tech) 13-7
2011 NCAA 6th Place
2012 ACC Runner-Up
(W) dec vs Kyle Kiss (North Carolina) 2-0
(L) dec vs Peter Yates (Virginia Tech) 6-4SV
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 1 (Peter Yates)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 7-4
Josh Asper was able to finish 6th at the NCAA Championships for the second season in a row. Asper came into the tournament as the 7th seed after getting upset in the ACC Finals, yet he upended the #2 Shane Onufer in the quarterfinals and came within a one point decision from making the Finals. He was voted the Oustanding Wrestler at the Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Invitational, where his closest match was a 6-0 shutout of Rutgers Scott Winston in the finals. With a loss to a post-graduate wrestler in the Semi's of the Nittany Lion Open not included on his official record, Josh finished his regular season undefeated at 23-0.
Photo Courtesy of wrestlersarewarriors
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#43 Cam Tessari (Ohio State) 149 LB
Photo Courtesy of Ohio State Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA 4th Place
(L) dec vs Corey Jantzen (Harvard) 10-8
(W) dec vs Shane Welsh (Lehigh) 6-1
(W) fall vs Kevin Tao (American) 5:51
(W) dec vs Gus Sako (Virginia) 3-2
(W) dec vs Cole Von Ohlen (Air Force) 5-4
(W) dec vs Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) 4-1
(W) dec vs Justin Accordino (Hofstra) 9-5
(L) dec vs Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) 12-10
2012 Big Ten 5th Place
(W) fall vs Frank Baer (Wisconsin) 3:19
(L) dec vs Ivan Lopouchanski (Purdue) 6-5
(W) dec vs Skylar Galloway (Nebraska) 5-2
(W) maj vs Kaleb Friedley (Northwestern) 15-1
(L) dec vs Eric Grajales (Michigan) 3-2TB
(W) dec vs Ivan Lopouchanski (Purdue) 8-6
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 6 (Justin Accordino x2, Scott Sakaguchi x2, Tyler Nauman, Dylan Ness)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 16-11
Prior to the NCAA Championships you might be able to sum up Cam Tessari's Freshman season as "good, yet not great". That was before he lost his opening round match and went on to win six consecutive matches to earn a shot in the 3rd/4th place match. Tessari became the first True Freshman All-American at the 149lb weight class since JP O'Connor in 2007. Over the course of his rookie season Tessari defeated four of the other seven All-Americans at 149. Two of those victories came at the Cliff Keen Invitational en route to his sixth place finish.
PHoto Courtesy of wrestlersarewarriors
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#42 Peter Yates (Virginia Tech) 165 LBS
PHoto Courtesy of Virginia Tech Athletic Communications
Resume:
2012 NCAA 5th Place
(L) maj vs Dallas Bailey (Oklahoma State) 13-2
(W) fall vs James Brundage (Rider) :11
(W) maj vs Brandon Wright (Chattanooga) 13-2
(W) dec vs Bubby Graham (Oklahoma) 9-4
(W) dec vs Shane Onufer (Wyoming) 10-3
(W) maj vs Ben Jordan (Wisconsin) 11-2
(L) dec vs Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (Clarion) 5-4
(W) dec vs Josh Asper (Maryland) 13-7
2012 ACC Champion
(W) dec vs Nick Sulzer (Virginia) 8-5
(W) dec vs Josh Asper (Maryland) 6-4SV
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 4 (Brandon Hatchett, Josh Asper x2, Ben Jordan)
Record vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 14-7
Peter Yates is another wrestler who really turned it on at the end of the season. After going 0-3 against conference rival Josh Asper of Maryland, Yates defeated him for the ACC Championship and to prove it wasn't a fluke he also defeated the Terp wrestler for 5th place at Nationals. Yates' run to NCAA 5th place saw him win five consecutive matches in the consolations, one by fall, two by major and also a victory over the #2 seed in the Round of 12. Earlier in the season he won Virginia Tech's Hokie Open, placed third in Penn State's Nittany Lion Open and was a Runner-Up at the Midlands Championships.
Photo Courtesy of Virginia Tech Athletic Communications
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#41 Mike McMullan (Northwestern) 285 LBS
Photo Courtesy of Northwestern Athletic Communications/Stephen J. Carrera
Resume:
2012 NCAA 3rd Place
(W) dec vs Brendan Barlow (Kent State) 3-1SV
(W) fall vs Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) 4:05
(L) fall vs Tony Nelson (Minnesota) 4:50
(W) dec vs Tucker Lane (Nebraska) 4-3
(W) dec vs Nick Gwiazdowski (Binghamton) 5-3
(W) MedFFT vs Ryan Flores (American)
(W) dec vs Clayton Jack (Oregon State) 10-5
2012 Big Ten 4th Place
(W) dec vs Cole Tobin (Wisconsin) 6-1
(W) fall vs Tucker Lane (Nebraska) 6:58
(L) dec vs Tony Nelson (Minnesota) 4-3
(W) dec vs Stephen Andrus (Michigan State) 3-1SV
(L) dec vs Cameron Wade (Penn State) 4-3
2012 Wins vs 2012 NCAA All-Americans: 5 (Bobby Telford, Jeremy Johnson, Nick Gwiazdowski, Ryan Flores, Clayton Jack)
Results vs 2012 NCAA Qualifiers: 14-10
Northwestern's Mike McMullan was yet another Freshman who got better as the 2011-12 season progressed. Mike started his initial season with the Wildcats 16-8, but finished 12-3. McMullan's third place finish at NCAA's was the highest by a Freshman heavyweight since Steve Mocco's Runner-Up finish in 2002. Prior to the NCAA Championships he finished fourth in the Big Ten as well as fourth at the Midlands Championships. In addition to his five victories over 2012 All-American's McMullan earned a win over a 2011 All-American and 2011 Big Ten Champion.
Photo Courtesy of wrestlersarewarriors