WIN'S NCAA PICK: GOPHERS

Schlatter boys will help Minnesota end OSU streak
By Bryan Van Kley, W.I.N. Publisher
As I write this, the magic number is eight. Eight days until the first whistle blows in Oklahoma City, Okla. for the 2006 NCAA Championships.
That also means it’s time for my Division I team-race prediction. Despite Oklahoma State returning five All-Americans, four of whom are defending champs, I think it’s going to be the Golden Gophers from Minnesota who are the story of the 2006 NCAAs.
I really thought all year there wasn’t any team which had the horsepower to upend John Smith’s 2005-2006 squad and their quest for a fourth straight NCAA title. There were simply not many question marks in OSU’s line-up, as opposed to a number of other top teams which have guys who could place third or could go 1-2. Oklahoma State’s returners have been there before and know how to win when the pressure is on.
And after winning three titles in a row, they deserve the benefit of the doubt, I thought. But after spending some time going through the numbers, I’ve changed my mind.
After edging the Cowboys twice this year in duals, Minnesota proved to me that they’re ready as a tournament team as well, Mar. 4-5, in Bloomington, Ind. at the Big Ten Championships. With four titlists, Minnesota won the team crown and qualified nine wrestlers for the big dance. But it wasn’t just the qualifier results which made me change my mind. It’s the way the Gophers are wrestling.
Case in point: true freshman Dustin Schlatter at 149.
Schlatter is as tough of rookie as I’ve seen in all the years I’ve followed college wrestling. Mentally, he’s one-in-a-million. Someone forgot to tell him that he’s not supposed to come in as a true freshman and major decision the previous year’s national champ like he did a little over a month ago in the dual against Zack Esposito.
This kid is one point away from being undefeated on the year, losing a 1-0 decision to Central Michigan’s Mark DiSalvo at the Northeast Duals way back in November.
And to the Gophers’ benefit, it looks like his older brother, sophomore C.P., is feeding off Dustin’s success. C.P. (157) downed top-ranked Alex Tirapelle in the Big Ten finals, avenged his only Big Ten dual loss to Wisconsin’s Craig Henning and is wrestling with more confidence than ever.
Fellow sophomore Roger Kish is rolling as well. Kish (184) hasn’t been beaten since January and posted Big Ten-tournament wins over Illinois’ Pete Friedl (previously ranked No. 5) and Purdue’s Ben Wissel (previously No. 2).
Top-ranked Cole Konrad (HWT) has been hot all year. He brings a 36-0 record and three wins against OSU’s Steve Mocco (including All-Star meet) into the NCAAs.
Based on where
Minnesota true freshman Dustin Schlatter …
we have Oklahoma State’s and Minnesota’s individuals ranked after the qualifiers, the Gophers would finish with seven All-Americans and Oklahoma State six. And you could see the two teams go head-to-head in the finals at 149 and heavyweight.
In addition to Mocco and Esposito, OSU’s other All-Americans based on our final rankings would be Coleman Scott (sixth at 125), Nathan Morgan (second at 133), Johny Hendricks (second at 165) and Jake Rosholt (fourth at 197). The loss of returning All-American Daniel Frishkorn (141) in late January could end up being costly for the Cowboys.
Minnesota’s Mack Reiter (fourth at 133), Matt Nagel (seventh at 165) and Gabe Dretsch (eighth at 174) join the two Schlatters, Kish and Konrad as probable All-Americans.
The other major variable which I think could play in Minnesota’s favor is that they are the ones trying to knock off wrestling’s current king. Despite the fact that the tournament is in the heart of Cowboy country, Minnesota will have the cheering section which always roots against the defending champs. If it’s a tight team race, I guarantee you 70 percent of the arena will be cheering against the men in the orange singlets simply because the
and brother C.P. Schlatter
y’re the three-time champs. That’s how it always works.
But watch out for an Oklahoma State team that comes in with something to prove. With predictions being made like the one in this column, the Cowboys could be out for blood after being penciled in as the runner-up. These guys have the experience of being in the NCAA spotlight before and they’ve always turned in their top performance of the year.
Have patience, you still need to wait a few more days before we all converge on Oklahoma City. But mark my words, this team race could be one for the ages.
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